The Doctor's Son Book 2 : Child of Time
by Nurse Betty Page
Summary: Five years have gone by. Clara is suspicious at the Doctor's reluctance to let their son travel in the Tardis. The Doctor is determined to protect him - even though he vowed to his older, time traveller son he would not meddle with his destiny. Then history plays out as predicted...What will happen when Clara realises the Doctor has kept such a dark and terrible secret from her?
1. Chapter 1

**The Doctors Son Book 2: Child of Time**

**Summary:**

**As the Doctor remains in Victorian England and continues his recovery, he remains watchful over his baby son, remembering the warning Raymond had sent from the future.**

**But then the Doctor suffers complications with his long healing process and is forced to use the Tardis to leave and seek help from a future time and place.**

**When he insists on leaving baby Raymond behind in the care of Madame Vastra, Clara becomes suspicious, wondering why a doting father would be so keen to leave his child behind – and the Doctor knows it is only a matter of time before Clara realises he is keeping_ far_ too many secrets from her...**

**But time passes and events begin to occur that makes the Doctor realise that perhaps he can not alter the future and keep his son safe from dark forces – but he is determined to try, despite the fact that he had promised grown up Raymond from the future that he will _not _meddle with his destiny...**

**Eventually, that which is foretold will come about – and what choice will the Doctor make, and how will Clara react when she learns the Doctor had known about the threat to their son ever since the day he was born?**

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><p><strong>Rated T<strong>

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I write for love of fan fiction.**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

_Five years had passed by._

The Doctor and Clara had remained in Victorian London, while he slowly continued to recover from the head injury that had caused so much damage.

While the Doctor was recovering, his son was growing fast.

Young Raymond was fascinated with the blue box that stood in Madame Vastra's garden, and every time he caught that look in his eyes, it chilled the Doctor's blood, because he recalled the words of his grown up time-traveller son who had warned of an incident that would happen one day, when as a young boy, he would run out of the Tardis and straight into danger...

_Clara still did not know._

He tried not to feel guilty about keeping all he knew a secret, but all the same, no matter how many times he reminded himself he felt it was for the best, guilt still weighed heavy:

_He had never wanted to hide anything from her ever again._

_He had wanted the life they shared to be one of total clarity._

_But could total honesty ever be a realistic goal, when he was a Timelord who knew so much more than she ever would – or should understand?_

He had tried to tell himself that he was protecting her, but really he knew he was protecting himself:

_If she thought there was a risk to Raymond, she would be off._

_He would lose her and his son, and he had no intention of doing that..._

* * *

><p>It was a summer afternoon and his thoughts were lingering on secrets and how long the burden would weigh heavy on his conscience, when his young son darted up the garden path, heading for the Tardis.<p>

"No!" he shouted, and the boy stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at his father with a frown on his face, and as he saw that look, the Doctor wanted to hug him.

But instead, he walked up to him, joining him outside the closed Tardis door, and then he looked down at him sternly.

"You will never be permitted to enter my Tardis," he reminded him, "Not until you are grown up."

The little boy looked up at him, blue eyes pleading with him.

"But I want to see!"

"No," the Doctor repeated, "This is a time machine. Sometimes it doesn't go where I want it to go, it could fly off somewhere dangerous and what would happen then?"

The boy looked back at him, and in that moment his eyes reflected the Doctor's own.

"I'm not scared of monsters, I've got you, Daddy!"

The look in the Doctor's eyes softened and he leaned closer and gave his son a brief hug.

"You used to be ginger when you was a toddler," he remarked, "I've always wanted to be ginger. And then you got bigger and your hair went the same colour as Mummy. But I _knew_ that was going to happen."

And then he paused, thinking of the man Raymond would grow up to be – and then he wondered where he was now, off in the future with Nina – he had often looked into the eyes of his child and realised he had already lied to him, not yet, not in this time – it would come later, when Raymond was a grown man, when he had promised not to interfere in the course of his destiny. But the Doctor felt there was no choice in the matter – he had to save his young son from danger, it was a simple fact...

"_Why don't you let him look around?"_

Clara had walked up the path to join them.

She smiled as she looked into the Doctor's eyes, but then a brief frown appeared on her face as she wondered why he looked so alarmed at the suggestion.

"You want me to let him go in there?" the Doctor said, indicating to the Tardis.

Clara nodded.

"_Better not,"_ he replied.

She stood there looking beautiful in her dark red Victorian dress, and he would have kissed her if it would have shut her up, but that look was in her eyes and he knew Clara had truly had enough of his excuses.

"_I want the truth," _she said.

He felt caught by her gaze.

"Strax!" Raymond called joyfully, and then he ran across the lawn to join the Sontaran at the fish pond where he stood feeding the fish.

"Watch my son near that pond," the Doctor called, "It's rather deep -"

"Stop worrying!" Clara said, and Strax nodded to him and then carried on with his task as the Doctor's son looked on.

Then as the Doctor turned back to Clara, he saw by the look in her eyes she was not ready to let the subject drop.

"Why won't you let our son step inside the Tardis?"

He looked into her eyes, and as he looked at her he desperately hoped the woman who knew him so well, and shared his life and his bed and who was raising a child with him, would not spot that he had something to hide.

"It's a time machine -"

"_Really?_" she said in a voice heavy with sarcasm, "I wondered why it was capable of _space _and_ time _travel! Stop it, Doctor – that's the excuse you give to our five year old son! What's the real reason? He's your son, you should want him to see the Tardis, I don't get why you won't let him do it!"

"Because it could be dangerous," he replied, "Kids get curious, Clara. And then there's the fact that we don't always land where we intend to go. That could prove disastrous. Think about all the situations we have been in over the years – add a kid to the mix, an excited kid who might run out the door and straight into a Dalek, or into the waiting arms of a Cyberman!"

Confusion clouded her eyes.

"I thought you stopped ranting about the Cybermen when your bad moods and nasty temper cleared up around five years back?"

"This isn't a rant. You would _know_ if I was ranting."

"Oh yeah, so I would. I think the whole of Victorian London would hear your bad language if you went through_ that_ phase again!"

He looked at her apologetically.

"Clara, the Tardis is up and running and we can use it any time we want to. But if we did, Raymond is staying here with Madame Vastra and Jenny. It's for the best that he has a settled up bringing. We could go off on an adventure right now – but would you want to do that, take such a gamble, when we have a little boy waiting for us to return? We might be gone for five minutes in his eyes, thanks to time travel – but what if something happened to you or me? What then, Clara?"

As she looked at him she felt a chill run through her blood.

"_Don't."_

"Don't what?"he asked.

"Don't say things like that!"

"Sorry, I was just trying to make a point -"

"Okay, well you just did," she said to him, "Let's just drop the subject."

Then she paused for thought, and spoke up again.

"You'll have to use the Tardis soon – the tissue repair device is wearing out and you're still getting dizzy spells. You need to get another one."

The Doctor gave a weary sigh.

"No I will _not_ be getting another one. And I thought you wanted to drop the subject."

"I just changed it."

The Doctor looked over at the pond.

His son was singing _Humpty Dumpy Strax_ to the Sontaran butler, who turned to him and replied fiercely:

"_If I fell from a wall and it caused me harm, I would declare war on the wall, in the name of the Sontaran Empire!"_ and then he smiled, adding pleasantly, "Shall we go inside and see what Jenny is preparing for dinner?"

As Strax lead their son back into the house, the Doctor drew the Tardis key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Come on" he said, "I have to do it sooner or later...This won't take five minutes."

And Clara followed him inside the Tardis, feeling sure that if he suggested taking off somewhere without their son, she would _definitely_ have something to say about that...

* * *

><p>Moments later they stood together at the Tardis console while the Doctor ran through a database.<p>

"What are you looking for?" she asked him, "Why don't we just go back to 2060 and -"

"_Go back there?"_ the Doctor remarked in surprise as he glanced up from the console. "Back to the place where I had a transmitter dug out of my head with decidedly primitive equipment that caused me a _great _deal of harm?"

Clara frowned, recalling a very different set of events that the Doctor had failed to remember because he had been unconscious at the time:

"The Tardis landed as an emergency. You had to take what ever they could do for you, because it was life or death. I know you don't remember, but I do. I'll never forget."

And then she fell silent and the Doctor continued to scroll through the database.

"Clara, are you going to speak to me?"

She drew in a slow breath and kept her anger in check as she replied to his question.

"I think, I honestly do believe that the problems you were left with was a small price to pay! I was there, I was holding you in my arms while you bled all over me and I thought you was gone! Then Nina came along and called for help and gave you first aid until medical back up arrived. You wouldn't be here today without them!"

He looked up at her again.

"I know that," he replied quietly, and then he continued to search the database.

Finally he stopped scrolling.

"I've found what I'm looking for at last...distant future, Earth colony planet of Eqstrinda... has a vast and highly advanced medical base, and there is a specialist called Professor Johnny Von Straten – he's a specialist in hi tech minimally invasive procedures to repair brain injuries. I think we should pay him a visit. Maybe he can put me right once and for all."

And then the Doctor paused, leaning on the console as he took in a sharp breath and began to tremble.

Clara stepped closer to him, watching as he closed his eyes, then as he stopped trembling, he blinked several times and she caught his dazed expression.

"If not for the tissue repair device that would have been a lot worse," he remarked, but his comment did little to ease her fears – the Doctor had been suffering these brief, mild seizures on and off for more than a year, and as the repair device had began to run out of power, her fear had increased that perhaps his seizures would also worsen...

"Wait here," Clara said to him, "I'll go and fetch Raymond and then we can go."

"_No."_

That look was back in her eyes, that confused – and now slightly suspicious – expression, the one that reminded him he was keeping far too many secrets from the woman he loved...

"Doctor, why not? You will need treatment once you get there and we don't know how serious that could be! You need your family around you!"

"I need to know Raymond is kept out of the situation," he replied, "I need to know while I'm being treated that my son is safe on earth with Madame Vastra and her wife, he doesn't need to worry about Daddy, he doesn't need to know I'm ill. I'd rather he stayed home and followed Strax around the garden."

"But why?"

"Because it makes sense to _me_, that's why!"

The Doctor shut off the database and headed for the door and Clara followed.

As they stepped outside, she looked at him and felt that perhaps there was more to his reason for leaving their son behind.

She had always found him to be a protective father – perhaps over protective, but it was only now that she was beginning to realise there could be a reason for this, perhaps something he was reluctant to share with her... But she had already decided she would not push him for answers yet, they had a journey to make, and before they left, they had to say goodbye to their son...

* * *

><p>"<em>But I want to come with you!"<em>

As Raymond looked up at his parents, the Doctor looked away, feeling guilty for causing tears to form in his son's eyes.

"We won't be gone long," Clara said to him, "The Tardis is like magic! We can go off for a few hours...or days...and come back right after we left, and to you, we will only be gone for a very short time – not even a day!"

Raymond looked sadly at his mother.

"I want to come too!"

"Not this time," the Doctor told him, "Maybe next time, okay?"

And then he hugged his son, and so did Clara.

And his son looked at the Doctor with disappointment in his eyes.

Then Jenny stepped forward and held out her hand.

"Come with me Raymond, me and Madame Vastra will be having tea soon – we've got cake as well!"

As Raymond took her hand he turned to walk away with her, but then he looked sadly back at his parents.

"Hurry up," he said, "I want you to come home."

"We wont be long," the Doctor promised as he smiled fondly at his son, then as Jenny led him out of the room his smile faded.

"I wouldn't want him with us on this kind of trip any way," the Doctor said to Clara, "I don't want my son to see me go through a potentially painful procedure. I don't know how this professor can fix my problem – _if_ he can do anything about it at all. I'm just hoping for the best."

"Do not worry about your son, Doctor," said Madame Vastra as she rose from her seat and led them out of the parlour and down a corridor towards the kitchen, where the back door to the garden was open, "We will take care of him. Your child is the least of your worries at a time like this. Go and find this man who can heal you."

"Thank you," he said to Madame Vastra, and then he and Clara left the house, walking down the path towards the Tardis.

Madame Vastra stood at the back door and watched as they went inside the Tardis, and then the box shimmered and vanished, and as it faded out she made a silent wish that all would be well for the Doctor, and that his absence would be a short one.

* * *

><p>As the Tardis drifted through time and space, Clara went off to change out of her Victorian clothing, and when she returned to the console room, the Doctor smiled, seeing her in clothing more befitting her days as a school teacher brought back a flood of fond memories.<p>

The Doctor had not bothered to change – his own dark clothing had fitted in very well with the era and in some ways his suit, especially with its crimson lining, seemed as timeless as he was.

As he looked across the console at Clara, he saw that look of doubt in her eyes once more and his smile faded.

"I do wish you would stop doubting me," he said , and then he turned his attention back to the console, simply to avoid her gaze.

"I can't," she replied, "And I don't want to quarrel with you at a time like this, but I keep getting the feeling that you're hiding something from me. I hope you're not, because I thought – and for now, I still _do_ think, that we share absolute honesty. Should I have a reason to doubt that?"

He slowly looked up from the console and met her gaze.

"Of course not," he told her, and as he looked into her eyes not a trace of guilt betrayed him as he kept it all back, determined to conceal the truth forever.

"Are you sure there's nothing I need to know?" Clara asked him, looking intently into his eyes, and that look reminded him in an instant of all he stood to lose if she ever discovered what he was hiding.

"There is absolutely nothing," he replied.

Then her questioning look melted away, and at last he felt spared from thoughts of the awful fate of losing her and his son.

"You think he would it upsetting because you're having treatment, that's why you don't want him with us?"

"Yes!" he insisted.

"That's the only reason?"

He looked at her across the console.

"_Of course!"_

Clara nodded.

"Okay," she replied softly, remembering this could prove to be a traumatic trip and deciding to hold back on more questions for a better time, "I accept that, I believe you."

"Good," the Doctor said quietly, and then he looked back down at the controls to avoid her gaze, and the Tardis travelled on through time and space, heading for its destination.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As the Tardis landed and the sound of the engines faded out, the Doctor noticed Clara looked apprehensive.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

She stepped closer to him, looked up and into his eyes as her own gaze reflected apprehension.

"_I'm worried about you."_

"Don't be, there's no need," he said casually, and then he headed for the door, but paused to turn back to her.

"Clara, if you're that concerned, maybe you should stay here."

Her eyes widened in alarm.

"You're about to go through a procedure – of course I'm concerned, and you're not going through it on your own!"

The Doctor gave a sigh.

"I think you're over reacting," he said casually, and then he left the Tardis before she could reply. Clara followed him outside, feeling utterly confused by his lack of apprehension over what he was about to face...

* * *

><p>They had stepped out into a wide, white marble room. The place was vast and hallways led off left and right. Clara looked all the way up to the high glass domed roof, where sunlight streamed down.<p>

"This place is huge," she said.

The Doctor glanced at a map on the wall and then indicated to the lift.

"His office is on floor twenty."

As they walked over to the lift they passed a wide reception desk where several staff members were answering calls and dealing with a queue of visitors.

"Maybe we should make an appointment?" Clara suggested.

"He's not the only expert here - and either he's busy, or he's not," the Doctor replied, and then he pressed a button and the lift doors opened and Clara followed him inside.

As the doors closed the Doctor selected the floor and the lift began to climb.

"This could be a wasted journey," Clara said to him, "He might be busy -"

"Or he might not be and I don't want to wait and find out, I just want to see him and ask him if he can help."

Then he drew in a slow breath and leaned heavily against the wall, closing his eyes as his body trembled.

"_Not again!" _

Clara placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him, but he continued to shake.

"_Doctor!"_

He slowly opened his eyes, looked disoriented for a moment, and then his expression became alert once more.

"I think it just happened again."

"It did," Clara told him, and as she let go she looked so concerned that he wanted to briefly hug her, but felt too unsteady to make a sudden movement, so he kept his back against the wall of the lift until it stopped climbing and the doors opened. Then he paused for a moment, waiting for the last of his unsteadiness to fade out, and then they left the lift together.

* * *

><p>After walking a short distance, they found the door to the Professor's office.<p>

"Don't look so worried!" the Doctor said again, and then he knocked on the door.

There was no reply, so he knocked again.

Then a voice spoke through a comm system:

"Explain why your visit was not previously booked?"

"I told you..." Clara whispered, but the Doctor simply walked over to the two way device and pressed a button and spoke into it:

"I have come a very long way to see you, Professor. I need some help. Please let me in."

"_Let you in?"_ he exclaimed,_ "For all I know you could be carrying concealed weapons! I might be kidnapped and forced to work for some evil alien organisation, or I could find myself shipped off to another galaxy and sold as a sex slave to some slimy mutant!"_

The Doctor and Clara exchanged a glance.

"This is the right floor, isn't it?" Clara said.

"Definitely – and the right office..." he turned his attention back to the intercom:

"Professor Von Straten, I have travelled a very long way in the hope that you can help me. Please may I come in?"

"Just a minute...I'm speaking with security..."

Clara gave a sigh.

"Oh great, we're in trouble now for trespassing!"

But then the Professor spoke up again, and his tone of voice had lost all trace of hostility.

"I've just been informed you arrived in a blue box. I have asked security to guard it for you, sir. I take it the blue box has a name?"

"What of it?" the Doctor asked.

"Please, just tell me the name of your vessel, sir."

"It's called a Tardis."

Now his tone of voice became very warm indeed.

"And you are?"

"The Doctor," he replied.

The door opened and Professor Von Straten greeted them with a warm smile.

"Welcome," he said, "I shall call down to the reception and tell them to put all my calls on hold this morning – I would be delighted to help you, I know of your deeds, and of your courage. You are the Timelord who has saved many lives and done much to fight evil. And it would be an honour to help you. Come in."

Clara and the Doctor exchanged another look, and then went into his office.

He gestured to the chairs set by his desk.

"Please, sit down. This won't take a minute."

And as they sat, he picked up the phone and told reception to hold all calls until the afternoon, and then he put the phone down, sat at his desk and looked across it with warmth shining in his dark eyes.

"It really is an honour to meet you!" he said again.

Clara looked intently at the man who sat behind the desk:

His hair was fair and spiked on top, the shorter sides had fancy swirls shaved into it, he worse a diamond ear stud that matched a flashy ring on the middle finger of his left hand, and beneath his open white lab coat, a sharp suit in a shade of light blue was visible, as was a designer shirt covered in swirls. He was over forty for sure, but she could not guess at his age...

"You're definitely Professor Von Straten?" Clara asked.

"Of course I am!" he replied, and then he looked to the Doctor.

"Now, before we begin, I need to run through a few facts with you – mainly, first of all, would you like come coffee, because I'm just about to make some?"

The Doctor smiled.

"Coffee would be great thanks," he replied, and the Professor got up and went through a door to a kitchen area and set about making the coffee.

Clara turned to the Doctor.

"He doesn't come across as a Professor type to me."

"What is a Professor type expected to look like in the far future?" he replied, "At least he's willing to see me now."

"And he knows all about you – I'm not sure I like that," she said, and concern still reflected in her eyes.

"Leave the worry to me," the Doctor replied, "Not that I am worried about how he knows of me – more like I'm curious. I'll ask him later."

Then the Professor returned with the coffees, set them down on the table and turned his attention back to the Doctor.

"So," he said, "What can I do for you?"

* * *

><p>As the Doctor explained the story of how the transmitter had been shot into his head, and then removed with great difficulty, Clara sat beside him wishing she could make an excuse to leave the room, but she knew she would not leave his side at a time like this, even though talking about the past was something she found deeply distressing.<p>

The Doctor talked calmly about how the transmitter's removal had caused an injury and then told him of the months and years that had followed, with the tissue repair device holding off the worst of the symptoms as he slowly went through a difficult healing process.

As she listened to the Professor – who had insisted they both called him Johnny - discussing the injury with the Doctor, it became clear that Johnny was definitely who he claimed to be as he talked about the human brain and showed great understanding of the subject. Realising this brought her some relief, but her anxiety lingered as she wondered what the outcome of this meeting would be.

She had also wondered if she was selfish to feel as if she had suffered enough when it was the Doctor who had been truly suffering, but as she sat there in silence while they talked, she couldn't stop herself running over the events of the past:

_The Doctor getting shot, those first, terrifying moments when she had screamed for help as she held him in her arms not knowing if he was alive or dead. Then later, while he fought to survive and she had felt as if she could have lost him at any time – she had been so afraid, far more than she had showed..._

_And then she had been forced to wait for several agonising hours while he underwent surgery to remove the transmitter, that was the time she had said a silent prayer, making a bargain with the highest power in the universe as she promised that if he survived, she would look after him, not matter what damage that injury had caused him..._

_But worst had come afterwards, when he had started on a difficult road to recovery, when he had been bad tempered and volatile and out of control, it had been like living with a stranger... _

_And somewhere out in time and space there was a kind time traveller named Raymond, the man she had named their son after, who had been good enough to give the Doctor a device that had helped to speed up his recovery and make the transition so much easier. But now that device was wearing out and the Doctor was having seizures, and as if that wasn't bad enough he would now most likely need more surgery..._

_Clara felt as if this nightmare would never end._

She just wanted him to be well again, and she also wanted to give in to her fears and her sorrow and weep for all that she was expecting to come:

_More recovery, more complications, more pain, more months or years of her being forced to sit back feeling useless while the man she loved suffered all over again..._

Clara sat up straight in the chair and reached for the Doctor's hand as he continued to talk to Johnny. She _definitely_ wanted to cry, but she wouldn't let it happen yet, she had to be strong for the Doctor...

Then as the Doctor finished speaking, Johnny paused for thought before looking across the table again at the Doctor.

"I'll need to run a quick scan," he said, "But from what you've told me I'm pretty certain you wont get this resolved without surgery. I can sort this out for you, I've got my tool kit in the treatment room -"

"_Tool kit?" _Clara exclaimed, and as she blinked away tears she missed the brief smile on the Doctor's face as he heard such surprise in her voice.

"Yes my tool kit," Johnny replied as he looked at her, "It's a simple procedure, all I have to do is burn out a small section of scar tissue in your boyfriend's brain and then repair the scar with an organic patch that will copy his brain cells and basically fill the gap with new functioning tissue. That will put a stop to the seizures and eradicate all trace of the injury. In other words, it will leave him good as new."

Her dark eyes glazed over with tears.

"He's got to have surgery?"

"There's no other way to repair the damage," he replied, "But don't worry, I know what I'm doing! If I wasn't any good at my job I would have been fired a long time ago! I've been doing this job for twenty- seven years, so please, _try_ and have a bit of faith in me."

Clara stood up.

"_I do have faith in you, its just that..."_

"Clara?" the Doctor said, and she avoided his gaze so he did not see tears burning in her eyes.

_"I just need a minute outside..."_

And she walked quickly from the room.

Johnny got up from his seat.

"Just wait here, Doctor. Let me speak to your girlfriend, I can see she's a bit stressed, I'm good at this sort of thing."

The Doctor remained seated.

"Maybe you'll have better luck than I did!" he exclaimed, recalling how anxious she had been despite his words of reassurance.

"I'll have a word," Johnny said, and then he left the office.

The Doctor leaned back in the chair, feeling quite relaxed about the whole procedure, and then he gave a sigh.

"Hurry up Clara!" he said, "I want to get this over with and go home!"

* * *

><p>Clara was standing outside the office on the other side of the corridor, she was leaning against the wall and as she saw Johnny walking towards her she quickly wiped her eyes and straightened up.<p>

"Really, there's nothing to cry over," he promised her, "When this procedure is over he's going to be just how he was before the injury. I can even cover the scar for him, too. It's an easy procedure, it won't take long."

He had spoken so gently to her, and as she met his gaze and saw such kindness reflected, suddenly to her immense frustration, it was impossible to hold back from crying again. She stifled a sob and blinked several times as she struggled to clear her vision.

"_I have seen him go through so much, he's really suffered and -"_

"And I'm guessing it's you who looked after him through it all?"

She nodded.

"Well that is never easy, seeing someone you love so unwell and not being able to do much to help. It must have been very hard on you as well as him."

"It was," she admitted, "I felt like the struggle was never going to end. I still feel that way. And we have a five year old son waiting for us, what's he going to think if something goes wrong and -"

"Nothing will go wrong!" he said gently, and he placed his hand on her arm and gave it a pat.

"Now you need to calm down and come back to the office, because I'm going to be taking the Doctor through to the treatment room and you can see _exactly_ what I'm going to do. Nothing bad is going to happen. The bad stuff is behind you now – he did the best thing he ever could have done, coming to see me, because I really_ can _cure him."

Sincerity reflected in his eyes and she found it was suddenly much easier to pull back on her emotions. Johnny was a man who she felt she could trust, someone who clearly knew what he was doing, and who seemed utterly convinced he could cure the Doctor.

"Shall we go back now?" he asked her and Clara nodded, and then she walked back with him across the corridor, and returned to the office where the Doctor was still waiting.

* * *

><p>As they went back into the office, the Doctor looked to Clara and she saw his concerned expression and immediately felt bad for causing him worry.<p>

"Sorry," she said, "I just needed some space. I'm okay now."

Johnny went over to the other side of the room and opened a door that led through to a treatment area.

"This way, Doctor," he said, and the Doctor got up from his seat, glanced at Clara and then walked over to the doorway, where he paused, waiting for her to join him.

"You can wait out here if you want to," he reminded her.

"No, I want to come in," she replied, and they went inside together.

Johnny pulled a trolley over to a workbench and began laying out equipment – highly advanced medical tools that Clara could not bear to look at.

"Take your jacket off and sit in the chair," Johnny told him, and the Doctor slipped off his jacket and handed it to Clara, who draped it over a chair at the back of the room.

"Are you comfortable, Doctor?" Johnny asked him.

The Doctor settled back in the padded chair.

"As comfortable as I can expect to be under the circumstances."

"Good," Johnny pressed a button and the chair reclined.

"Turn your head and keep still," he told him, and the Doctor turned his head, exposing the deep scar on his temple to the bright light above him.

Clara watched as Johnny took a small scanning device and ran it over the scar, then as the image came up, he studied it for a moment.

"I was right," he said, "This is going to be a simple procedure."

"So is he going to have the surgery today?" Clara asked, and she sounded nervous all over again.

"I've just got to do some small procedures," Johnny told her, "So I will be giving him a couple of injections, are you okay to stay for that?"

She hesitated.

"Clara, you can wait outside if you want to, I don't mind," the Doctor told her.

"No, I want to stay," she replied, and she sounded terribly worried, and hearing her sound so upset made his twin hearts ache.

"Perhaps you _should_ wait outside," he added.

"No, I'm staying!" she told him firmly.

As he lay with his head turned and the scar exposed, Johnny looked down at him.

"Would you like Clara to hold your hand?" he asked quietly.

"_I don't need my hand held!"_ he exclaimed.

Johnny leaned over him to adjust the light, and as he did so he whispered to the Doctor:

"I know _you_ don't need your hand held, but _she_ does."

Then he straightened up once more and began to sort out his equipment.

"Clara," the Doctor said, "Could you come closer, please?"

And he held out his hand.

Clara was at his side in an instant, standing there gripping his hand firmly as if she was afraid to let go.

"_Its going to be just fine,"_ the Doctor promised her, _"Stop worrying, Clara - I'll be okay..."_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Clara stood beside the reclined chair keeping a tight grip on the Doctor's hand. She deliberately looked away and decided to keep looking away after pain registered on his face as the scar on his temple was injected.

"You will not feel the next part of the process," Johnny promised him, "That's a pain killer that goes through tissue _and_ bone."

"I'd rather not think about the bone part," the Doctor replied, and then he closed his eyes and took in a slow, deep breath as he felt more pressure, but no pain, over the healed scar.

Clara glanced at the thin, narrow device that was now slowly sinking into the Doctor's head, and then she looked away again.

"Are you sure you can't feel that?" she asked.

"I can't feel a thing," he replied.

As the Professor continued to work the device, he paused briefly to check the image on the scanner, and then the device slid deeper.

As the Doctor lay back with his head turned he felt a brief flicker of panic as he wondered exactly how much tissue was going to be burned away deep inside his brain.

"I've just come back from my holidays," Johnny said as he worked.

"What?"

"Holidays, Doctor. I went to Mars for three weeks. I do love travelling when I can, the further the better, too. But I'm sure that's nothing compared to travelling through time!"

Johnny rotated the device and changed a setting that made an audible click.

"So where are you staying these days? And have you been any where nice on holiday?"

"I mainly travel in the Tardis," the Doctor replied as the Professor continued to work, "We've been living in Victorian England for the past five years, bringing up our son."

Clara glanced at the device that Johnny was slowly drawing out of the Doctor's temple, and then she looked away and shook her head, finding it bizarre that the Doctor was undergoing a major procedure and casually chatting to Johnny as if he had popped into the barber's for a haircut...

"Just keep still for a few more minutes," Johnny said to him, "I've just got one more thing to do. You might feel a bit of pressure."

"Okay."

The Doctor closed his eyes.

Johnny drew out the device and then took another from a sealed unit, switched it on and began to slowly run it down the Doctor's scar, lingering carefully around the hole caused by the other machine, and Clara saw skin bubble and she looked away again.

"Don't fall asleep on me!" Johnny said, and the Doctor laughed softly.

"I'll try not to."

Clara had found the courage to watch without flinching now she knew the Doctor was clearly in no pain. As the tip of the glowing device passed down the final trace of scar tissue, the skin bubbled and then smoothed out, and Johnny turned off the device and placed it back in the unit.

"Doctor," he said, "I'm going to raise the chair up now."

The Doctor's eyes remained closed, but then he stirred.

Clara felt a flicker of alarm.

"Doctor?" she said, and he opened his eyes and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Sorry, I _did _fall asleep...is it done?"

"Its all over," Johnny promised him, and he pressed a button and the chair became upright once more.

The Doctor let go of Clara's hand and looked at her, smiling as he saw she was still far too anxious, and he knew he needed to put that right.

"I'm fine!"

She stared at him.

"But he said you had to have a couple of procedures... why bother covering the scar if he has to operate?"

"I just did," Johnny explained.

She looked at him in confusion, and then as she turned to the Doctor, amusement danced in his eyes.

"When I explain something," he said, "You should listen, Clara! I told you before we arrived - this place specialises in _minimally invasive_ treatments. It's over, he just cured me."

"I did listen, but I was so worked up I didn't hear you..."

Then she stared at Johnny.

"You _cured_ him?"

"Yes Clara, I just mended your boyfriend."

As the anxious look in her eyes turned to pure relief, the Doctor reached for her and drew her into a tight embrace.

For a moment she became tearful and Johnny looked away as she whispered something to him and they kissed, and then she stifled a sob. He waited for the two of them to stop hugging, and then he spoke up again.

"You should lie down for an hour to give everything time to settle, otherwise you'll have headache that could last for a couple of days."

And he went over to a door at the back of the room and opened it.

"You should rest, Doctor," and he looked to Clara, "You go with him if you want to. I'll make sure you don't get disturbed."

Then he laughed.

"And _no_ messing about in there, even if you feel better, this is_ not _the time or the place!"

The Doctor laughed too.

"There definitely won't be any of that, I want to make sure I get some rest..." He reached up and ran his finger tips over his temple.

"Have you got a mirror?"

Johnny took a hand mirror off the table and held it up, and the Doctor turned his head, seeing no trace of the deep scar that used to cut into his temple, every trace of it was gone.

"Thank you," he said, and then he cautiously got up from the chair, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he felt no unsteadiness.

Then the Doctor reached into his pockets, and then he glanced over at his jacket.

"Before I have a lie down I'd like to settle the bill."

Johnny had turned his back to put the mirror on the table.

"_There isn't one."_

Clara and the Doctor looked at each other in surprise.

"But that was a _very _costly, hi-tech procedure you just carried out," the Doctor said to him, "I'm fully aware this kind of treatment doesn't come cheap. Now tell me, how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing," Johnny said, and he turned back from the table and looked fondly at the Doctor.

"_You didn't ask me,"_ he added.

The Doctor blinked.

"Am I confused because you've just poked about inside my head, or am I genuinely missing something here? I haven't asked you _what_, precisely?"

"About how I heard all the stories about you," he replied.

"So how did you hear them?" the Doctor asked.

Johnny stepped closer, his eyes shining with gratitude as he looked at him.

"From my grandparents," he replied, "When I was growing up, they told me the tale of the man who came to their town, the Doctor who arrived in his Tardis and stayed on to fight for their planet. They were among the survivors after the final battle, they were moved off to another planet and they settled there – on this one, actually. _My grandparents hailed from a small town called Christmas. They came from Trenzalore._"

As the Doctor looked at him in surprise, Johnny shook his hand.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Doctor – and as for the fee, forget it – but do take my gratitude, and my thanks."

The Doctor was speechless. He looked to Clara and she smiled, and then she took him by the hand and led him into the recovery room.

"Come on," she said, "Lie down, you have to rest."

"But he just told me -"

"I know, and now for once, I want you to do as you are told!" she said, and he sat down on the bed and looked to the doorway.

"I'll be back in an hour," Johnny said, "Get some rest, Doctor."

* * *

><p>As Johnny walked away the Doctor was still staring after him.<p>

"_Trenzalore?"_ he said, and Clara placed her hands on his shoulders and eased him back against soft pillows.

"You can talk to him about it later – you have to rest."

As he lay back she got on to the bed and lay beside him, sliding her arm around him as she looked into his eyes.

"Trenzalore!" he said again.

"_Rest!"_

She kissed him softly and as it dawned on him that he was starting to feel well – really well, for the first time in five years - she drew back from his embrace as she spotted the look in his eyes.

"_Rest!" _she said again firmly, and the Doctor gave a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Okay, just for an hour...Trenzalore...I can't believe it, Clara!"

"I said, _rest!_"

The Doctor gave another sigh.

"Okay, okay I'm resting..."

Clara turned on her side.

"You'd better be."

She watched him as he lay there, eyes closed and breathing easily.

Then he opened one eye, and saw she was watching him.

"_Rest!"_ she exclaimed, and he pulled her closer as she laughed softly.

"Stop messing about!" she told him as he hugged her, "You have to rest, its only for an hour!"

"I know," he replied, his voice muffled as he turned on his side and pressed his face into her hair, "But its not easy – I'm feeling better, you know I can't keep still for too long!"

Clara reached up and ran her hand over his hair.

"Just rest for a little while, do it for me."

He met her gaze.

"Just for you," he promised, and then he kissed her and rested with his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes once more.

* * *

><p>The Doctor slept for just over an hour, as Clara lay beside him she checked the time, then watched him sleep, and as she watched him it began to dawn on her that finally, the nightmare was over:<p>

He was free of pain, having no more seizures and he had regained something she had missed – now, he was completely the man she had known and loved before the shooting incident. She had seen it in his eyes as he had laughed with her on the bed, that sparkle was back in his eyes, that look that she had missed for so long.

She felt happy, but at the same time wanted to turn her back for a short while and hug the pillow instead of the Doctor, so she could cry from sheer relief to know she never had to worry for him or be afraid for him ever again in the way she had constantly worried for the past five years.

It had not been easy, to take care of a damaged Timelord whose moods had swung violently, who suffered from painful headaches and forgetfulness and slept a lot. The seizures had terrified her, too – but it was over now.

It was really over, and when they went back to Victorian England, Raymond would have his father back – he would have his father exactly the way he should have been from the start, healed, undamaged, with no more problems.

_Raymond wouldn't have a sick Daddy any more..._

That thought made tears blur her eyes and she drew in a slow breath and then let it out again, quickly wiping her eyes as the Doctor turned over in his sleep.

She looked again at his temple where no scar remained, and relief washed over her as it started to sink in at last that everything would be okay. It had been a long, hard journey, but now it was over. The Doctor was going to be just fine...

As he woke up he turned his head and looked at Clara.

"Has it been an hour yet? I really want to get up, I can't keep still any longer!"

Clara sat up and smiled as she looked into his eyes.

"I know you're better now. I can see it every time I look at you."

The Doctor sat up too, and he returned her smile, but it was brief as a look of sadness clouded his eyes.

"I may be better but I can still remember what it was like – what _I_ was like," he told her, "I'm not proud of the way I behaved towards you or other people. I know I've been a real bastard. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault!" Clara exclaimed, "You had a brain injury! Everyone knew that, you haven't offended anyone, I made sure I explained why you were behaving like you did – even Danny understood when you went for him in the street!"

"I remember doing that..." the Doctor's eyes widened, "I even accused you of sleeping with Madame Vastra _and_ her wife!"

Clara suppressed a smile.

"And Strax," she added.

"_I accused you of sleeping with Strax?"_

Amusement danced merrily in her dark eyes.

"No, I was joking about Strax. But you accused me of sleeping with just about everyone else I came into contact with!"

The Doctor fell silent for a moment, and then as he met her gaze he laughed.

"How embarrassing."

"For me, yes." Clara replied.

"And for me too!" he said, but then she smiled, and in that moment he knew everything was understood and no more apology was needed.

As they sat together on the bed the Doctor took hold of her hands as he looked into her eyes.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, "Thank you so much, Clara."

"What for?"

"For putting up with me when I was unbearable to live with."

"You've always been hard to live with!" she joked, but gratitude still shone in his eyes.

"You don't know how amazing you are," he said softly, "I know, I'm aware it hasn't been easy – I haven't been easy to live with, I've caused you a lot of pain and worry, right up until today I saw that look in your eyes, that terrible fear that you thought you might lose me, or have to watch me suffer more misery all over again – I never want to see that look in your eyes again, Clara. From now on, from this moment, everything will be fine, I promise!"

"Okay," she said, feeling slightly confused by the intensity of his words, "I believe you! I know its all fine now, you don't have to think about the past any more."

Then she let go of his hands and got up.

"I'm going to find Johnny – I won't be long."

And then she walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>As he sat there alone, the Doctor's thoughts raced – thoughts on the promise he had just made to her, as he wondered if it was one he could ever truly keep:<p>

_She didn't know about the danger that lurked out there, the danger to their son... _

He wondered if he had just lied to her again by promising everything would be okay. Perhaps it wouldn't be, perhaps everything would go wrong.

He thought about the visit from his older, time traveller son, the man whose life had been changed because of the dark forces that had snatched him away – but he had said, he loved his life with Nina, and he had made him promise never to meddle with destiny, for fear of losing the future happiness that lie in store through his altered time line...

But the Doctor could not bear the thought that less than a year from now, his young son would be gone. He felt no guilt about lying to Raymond's future self about it, because he was sure Raymond would be happy with or without ever meeting Nina.

And the Doctor also knew that he could never be happy without watching Raymond grow up. He was not prepared to let him go for sake of a future that could easily be changed. Losing Nina would be a small price to pay – his son could always find another wife...

Raymond was going nowhere - now he knew the truth, he knew how to prevent disaster, and he would prevent it, and then his son would not be lost and Clara would never know, she would be spared the agony he had gone through every day for more than five years as he had watched his son grow and knowing soon he would be taken.

_No one was taking that boy away, he would make sure of it._

But even though his resolve was strong, worry still clouded his mind as he left the recovery room and put on his jacket.

He paused by a mirror and looked intently at his reflection, he knew instantly he was fully recovered, and now the scar was gone he was happy to look flawless once more.

But he also saw something _else_, intensity burning in his own eyes as he saw himself reflected:

He was still remembering the words of his grown up son, who had travelled back to Victorian England five years ago and told him everything, he still recalled every single word Raymond had spoken when he had pushed him to share the truth:

"_I was six years old. I can't remember where we were going, but I was excited, I wanted to go outside and look around, and that's why I ran off. I heard you call me, but I opened the door of the Tardis and went outside, and there they were. And I couldn't move...and then, I blinked..."_

As his words echoed in the Doctor's mind, he looked intently into the mirror , repeating a vow he had made long ago:

"_It won't happen,"_ he said darkly, _"They won't take him. The Weeping Angels will not have my son!"_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Johnny returned he smiled on seeing the Doctor was up once more, and looking well.

"I hate to kick you out so soon Doctor, but you're easily well enough to leave," he said and then he paused for thought, looking to Clara and then back at the Doctor.

"I don't suppose I could have a look inside your Tardis before you go?"

The Doctor smiled, understanding that after hearing the tales handed down from his grandparents, it made perfects sense that he would want to see inside the blue box of legend.

"I don't see why not," the Doctor replied, and then as they walked through the office and out into the corridor towards the lift, Johnny started to talk once more:

"I must admit, I'm rather envious of your lifestyle, flying about the universe in a time machine. It must be great fun!"

"It's hardly been fun," the Doctor replied, "More often than not we run into trouble – there's a lot more out there than alien lands and pretty stars, Johnny. There's darkness, and where there is darkness, there can also be danger. Sometimes, its no fun at all. And as for travelling, until today when the problem was finally fixed, I was too unwell to go any where. It's been a while since I've taken off into the unknown just for the hell of it."

"But you don't miss those days?" Clara sounded slightly worried.

"Sometimes I do," the Doctor replied, and she frowned as they reached the lift and the doors opened.

"But its different now, we have a child to raise."

"I know," he said giving a sigh, "And that more than makes up for giving up on the danger I used to dice with. But I do miss those days, I think I always will."

The lift doors closed and he hit the button for the ground floor.

Johnny spoke up again.

"But even though you have to take things a bit easy because of your son, you still have an exciting life – I mean, you have a time machine, you're a time traveller – it must be fascinating. Much more fascinating than _my_ life, which can at times, be rather boring, stuck in my twentieth floor office, with no chance of ever seeing the universe in the way that you have. I do wish I could have the experience of travelling in the Tardis. That would be great. Time travel, if that was involved too, would _definitely_ be awesome!"

And the lift came to a stop and the doors opened and Clara and the Doctor exchanged a glance. As she caught the smile on his face she smiled too, they were both thinking the same thing:

_Johnny had cured him. Taking him on a trip through time and space would be the perfect way to say thank you to Johnny Von Straten..._

As they walked across the wide marble floored reception area towards the Tardis, Johnny went on ahead, thanked security for guarding the Doctor's ship and then dismissed them.

The Doctor drew his Tardis key from his pocket and glanced at Clara, and the look they exchanged, although brief, was a moment of pure celebration that needed no words:

_He was finally cured. Their life could go on, the bad times were over..._

The Doctor opened the door.

"After you," he said, and Johnny went inside, and the Doctor and Clara followed.

Johnny stood by the console, pausing to look up and then around the vast room.

"I'm not at all surprised," he remarked, "Bigger on the inside...of course! It had to have some sort of trick up its sleeve, otherwise how could you live and travel in something so small? This place is amazing!"

The Doctor stood at the controls and leaned casually on the console.

"Would you like to come with us?"

Johnny's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Of course I would!"

"Let's go, then!" the Doctor said, and he threw a lever, and the sound of the engines groaned and whooshed as the Tardis faded in and out and then vanished, setting off on a journey back through time and space.

* * *

><p>"<em>It's amazing!"<em>

Johnny stood in the console room gazing in fascination at the view of space on the wide viewing screen as the Tardis travelled onwards.

Then he turned back to the Doctor and Clara with a look of wonder in his eyes.

"I've never seen it like this before – rushing by, all the colours, the swirls and the glowing shimmers – it's like magic!"

"That's the time vortex," the Doctor said as he stood at the console, "It literally adds another dimension to the view of space travel. Everything is so much brighter, sharper, more beautiful."

Johnny looked back at the screen as rushing colours reflected in his gaze.

"I want to fly into it, I want to be a part of it!"

"I'm glad you appreciate it," the Doctor replied, "Time travel can be a beautiful experience."

Then Clara smiled, recalling a time when it had _not_ been so amazing...

"Or it can be a bumpy ride, especially if the Tardis gets stuck in the throat of a T Rex -"

"I'd just regenerated, I couldn't remember how to fly this thing!" the Doctor exclaimed, and Clara laughed softly.

"You certainly handle it well now."

As he reached for a lever, she stepped closer and her hand brushed his, then she turned her head and he met her gaze.

"Nice to know my touch is gentle enough for you, Clara,"

"Trust me, it's just right," she replied, "I'd soon let you know if I wasn't satisfied."

Johnny turned away from the screen and looked back at the doting couple, who were stood at the console exchanging a lingering glance.

"Oi," he said, "Don't get so wrapped up in each other that you forget to put down the landing gears!"

The Doctor smiled.

"No need to worry about that," he said, and as he threw a lever the Tardis engines groaned, and then the sound faded out.

Johnny looked out the viewing screen and saw the brilliant colourful vortex had disappeared, replaced by a large, well tended garden.

"We've landed? I didn't even feel us touch down!"

The Doctor laughed softly as he shook his head.

"Under normal circumstances, you don't feel the Tardis land, she simply does. Welcome to Victorian England, planet Earth, Johnny."

"And get ready to meet some aliens," Clara added, then she saw a startled look in his eyes, "Friendly ones," she told him quickly, "Very friendly. They're _definitely _on our side."

"Then I look forward to meeting them!" Johnny said keenly, and then the Doctor led the way and they headed for the door, ready to step back into Victorian England, where young Raymond was about to discover something wonderful had happened – his Daddy was better at last...

* * *

><p>"Doctor!" Madame Vastra exclaimed, "You look so well!"<p>

And as she grasped his hands briefly she smiled as she looked into his eyes.

"It's like a miracle!" Jenny added.

And Johnny Von Straten stood there in silence in the front room of Madame Vastra's home, still getting used to the idea of the lady of the house looking much like a lizard, unlike her wife, who appeared to be human – while the butler, who looked on, was clearly Sontaran...

As Clara and the Doctor talked with Vastra and Jenny, Strax approached Johnny.

"_Surrender to the might of the Sontaran Empire!"_ he barked fiercely.

Johnny stared at him.

"What?" he said nervously.

Strax smiled.

"May I take your coat?"

"This is not a coat, this is a jacket. And I'm keeping it on, thank you."

Strax looked at him intently, taking in the sight of his spiked hair and shiny jewellery, and struggled to decide how to address him, so turned to the Doctor.

"Is this..._girl._..staying for the night, Doctor?"

"_Girl?"_ exclaimed Johnny.

"Professor Johnny Von Straten is male, and yes, he is staying tonight," the Doctor replied.

Strax turned back to Johnny, who looked at him thoughtfully.

"You're not quite _right_, are you?"

"Allow me to take your bags," Strax replied.

"Do you see any bags?" he said, and Strax cast a glance about and then looked back at Johnny.

"Then may I take your coat?" he asked again.

"Strax," said Madame Vastra, "You may show the Professor to his room."

The Sontaran looked back at him and glared.

"This way!" he said, and it sounded more like a complaint than an invitation, and then he followed Strax up the staircase.

As Strax led the way and Johnny went up the staircase, young Raymond ran in from the garden.

"_Mummy, Daddy!"_ he yelled joyfully, and the Doctor held out his arms to his son and caught him as they almost collided.

Then the Doctor lifted his son into his arms and smiled.

"I'm back and I'm all better now, what do you think of that?"

Raymond blinked.

Then he looked around, and then down at the floor and back at his father in surprise.

"You're carrying me!"

"Yes, I am – because now I know I won't get ill and drop you!" he replied.

The little boy hugged him.

"I'm glad you're better now Daddy," he said, and the Doctor continued to hug him and as Clara looked on, and she was sure she had never felt so happy – this was the moment she had dreamed of for so long, the day when the nightmare came to an end, a day she had often feared they would never see come to pass.

But it really was over now, and knowing that made her wonder what this would mean for them, apart from the end of the worry – surely it was time to look to the future? She didn't want Raymond to be an only child, she wanted him to grow up with brothers and sisters, and now the Doctor's health was restored there was no reason to hold back...she would talk to him tonight about her plans, because she was sure it was what the Doctor wanted, too...

* * *

><p>Much later, after Raymond was sleeping soundly in his room and evening had given way to night, the Doctor was in bed with Clara in the room they had shared for five years since the day they had arrived at the house – back then, he had needed help, and now he did not, and Clara was still getting used to that fact...<p>

As she lay beside him beneath cool sheets and a summer breeze sighed in through the window, she looked into his eyes and saw that sparkle that she had missed for so long was definitely back to stay, it had not left his eyes since Johnny had repaired his injury.

"I think we should start thinking about the future," Clara said to him as she ran her hand over his chest and smiled, "I mean, you're okay now – it's really over, there's nothing to worry about. We can go anywhere, do anything – and maybe its time Raymond had a brother or sister."

And the warmth that had been bordering on arousal as she touched him faded from his eyes.

"What?" Clara said as she started to worry all over again, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I just made the worst suggestion you could ever want to hear? I thought you once said to me you wanted us to have several children, that's what you told me when you was back in 2060 recovering from surgery."

His eyes widened.

"I don't remember saying that!"

"You don't remember a lot of things you said back then, because your head was a mess and it stayed a mess for several years. But you meant it at the time, Doctor! Why would you change your mind now? Everything is fine, we have no more worries, you're okay, we could have more children -"

"_No."_

Her had spoken as if that had been his final decision, and as he sat up in bed so did Clara, and she stared at him as she caught the look reflecting in his eyes – it was almost as if...he was _afraid_ of something?

It was then that something dawned on her that she had missed before – she had missed it because she had been worried about him, constantly fretting over his fragile health – but now those fears were gone, she saw something in his eyes that she had previously missed, and the look made a chill run through her blood.

"You are scared of something! What is it?"

He hesitated, knowing this would only serve to increase her fears, but he was lost for words and had little choice in the matter as he shook his head.

"_Leave it,"_ he said in a hushed voice.

"What is it?" she demanded, "Doctor please, you're scaring me. Why are you so afraid about the future and us having more kids?"

He had looked away, but then as he met her gaze once more he knew there could be no more hiding from the truth, because Clara had worked out something was very wrong, and she would not let go of this until she found her answer...

He drew in a slow breath and as he spoke, his voice was hushed:

"That man you met while I was in surgery five years ago – Raymond, Nina's husband – he's _our _Raymond. He grows up to be a time traveller, working alongside his wife at a branch of earth defence."

She stared hard at him.

"Raymond – you mean the same Raymond who came here and gave you the tissue repair device is our...No... no, _no_... Why? _Why_ would he suddenly show up now, and not before?"

"Because he didn't want to mess with the time line for any of us," the Doctor replied, "He wanted to show himself when the time was right, and he did."

The look in Clara's eyes briefly softened as she thought of grown up Raymond, the man who had offered her so much comfort five years before while the Doctor was undergoing surgery to have the transmitter removed from his head. She had been so thankful for the kind words of a stranger – a stranger who had reminded her of the Doctor. _Now it all made sense._

"That was so kind of him," she said softly, "He comforted me, and then later he came back here to give you the tissue repair device. He's looking out for both of us."

But the Doctor's expression was grave.

"Oh no," Clara said, feeling a rising sense of dread as she thought of their son, "I knew it, there had to be more – and none of it is good, is it..."

He gave a heavy sigh as he looked into her eyes.

"Oh Clara, I wanted to tell you before but you see, I was afraid. I thought I'd lose both of you. Promise me that won't happen, _please_!"

Her eyes widened as she looked back at him.

"Why would you lose us? Okay, I'm _really_ scared now. _Tell me what's going on, because our child is involved in this and I'm not letting it drop until I know everything!_"

As he looked at her his twin hearts ached.

This was _not_ the happy homecoming he had planned or expected – he had hoped, after being treated successfully, that they would have spent the night making love, something he would have enjoyed so much more than usual because his strength was now restored – he had certainly not expected _this,_ to be caught out on the secret he was hiding...

_But it was too late._

_She knew something was wrong, and now he had little choice but to tell her everything..._

"Before he left five years ago, Raymond told me he was separated from us at the age of six. He said he ran out of the Tardis one day and found himself looking straight into the gaze of a Weeping Angel. He blinked and next thing he knew he was alone in the 1970s and he kept asking for his father, the Doctor, who flew through time in a blue box called the Tardis. Somebody called UNIT. That's how he ends up becoming Raymond Lethbridge-Stewart. The Brigadier and his wife, they adopted him. He told me he doesn't want me to change his time line, because he met his wife and he's happy and he likes the life he has – but I can't do that, Clara – we _have_ to save our son from being snatched away from us."

She was still staring at him with a look of utter shock in her eyes.

"Of course," she said in a hushed voice, "We can't let this happen!"

"_We wont!"_

But Clara's mind was already racing ahead.

"How come he ended up in 2060, that's almost a hundred years from where the Angels sent him, and he doesn't look a day over fifty, why is that?"

"I don't know," the Doctor replied, "I don't understand how he got there or met Nina – I need those answers."

And he grabbed her hands.

"Please say you'll help me to change his destiny."

"_Why didn't you tell me before?"_

Her words sounded sharp and accusing.

"_Because I was terrified! I was bloody terrified and I still am!"_

He had replied with absolute honesty, the truth laid bare as he looked into her eyes and she saw fear reflecting in his gaze – the deepest kind of fear she had ever seen in the eyes of the Doctor – it was the fear she also shared now she knew the truth, a terrible, depths of hell, life shattering fear that no parent could bear to contemplate – it was the fear of losing their child...

"I'm terrified too," she said quietly, "But now we know, we _both_ know, so we can change this, right? Please, tell me we can change this, Doctor!"

As he looked into Clara's eyes and her fear reflected his own terrors he made made a vow he was not sure if he could keep:

"_Of course!"_ he told her, _"Of course we can stop this happening, we know about it – so it's like having an advance warning - we can easily save our son!"_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The shock of all she had learned had not left Clara, even after the Doctor had held her in his arms and kept her there, wrapped in his embrace as he told her to rest and sleep and remember his promise.

But she had not slept, even after he had fallen asleep she had stayed awake, her mind sharp and thoughts racing as she lay in the dark beside the man she loved – the man who had held back far too much for too long...

Finally Clara had got out of bed, got dressed, left the room and gone up the hallway to the room where their son was sleeping soundly.

She thought on all the promises the Doctor had made that they could prevent this threat, that they could keep him safe from harm – but all the promises in the world could not have made her feel any differently as she stood there watching her son sleeping soundly in his bed...

A short while later she had woken him, got the sleepy child dressed and then taken him by the hand and led him out of his room and down the stairs.

And Johnny, who had not slept thanks to briefly hearing raised voices coming from the Doctor's room earlier on, had not yet gone to bed, and on hearing footsteps on the stairs had opened his door, looked out and seen her leading the boy down the stairs.

Then he had thought about the situation for a moment, and decided it would be best _not_ to wake the Doctor – he had just recovered from a major treatment, and what ever the two of them had been quarrelling about, he had guessed that perhaps this was not easy as a time of adjustment, even though they were getting used to the fact that their nightmare was over – perhaps they had just had a major quarrel, otherwise, why would Clara be taking the boy from the house so late at night?

He gave it some thought, and then decided to follow them.

* * *

><p>As Clara reached the door of the Tardis she remembered she did not have the key with her.<p>

"Let's see if this works," she said to her son, and then she let go of his hand and snapped her fingers, and the door opened up for her.

"Wow!" Raymond gasped as he looked at the vast interior with its impressive console and glowing lights.

"Come on," she said to him, "Let's have a look around. But this has to be our secret, okay?"

The little boy nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he followed her into the Tardis.

Raymond ran up to the console, placed his tiny hands on the edge of it and stood on tip toe to look up at the controls, and Clara smiled, seeing so much of his father in him at that moment.

And then her smiled faded as she thought of the Doctor, and how she felt she had no choice but to do this, now she knew she had to protect her son.

"I've seen Daddy fly the Tardis many times," Clara told him, "And I think I can do it too. _If _it lets me."

"Where are we going, Mummy?"

She felt like weeping as she looked into his eyes as he stood there looking up at her.

"Somewhere far away, where I can get some answers I need. And if I don't like those answers, you and me are going back to my time. I can get my old job back as a teacher, and we can live safely, away from everything..."

The little boy frowned.

"What about Daddy?"

"Daddy has a recall device on the Tardis. He can call it back here, and he can come and see us when he wants to – if he wants to. This is complicated, Raymond. I'm just trying to keep us all safe."

"_And you're going the wrong way about it."_

Clara turned sharply to see Johnny had walked into the console room.

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep. And I heard a few words exchanged tonight – didn't catch any of it – but now you're thinking about running off with your kid, it's not a way to solve anything. What's going on, Clara?"

She stared at him.

"It's got nothing to do with you!"

"It has if I'm about to witness you running off in the Doctor's Tardis and taking his son away from him! There has to be another way, Clara."

"Really?" she replied, "I just found out he's known for years that our son..." she paused, lowering her voice as Raymond ran to the other side of the console to run his fingertips over flashing lights, "There's danger. The Doctor was warned by a future version of our son, he said Weeping Angels would send him back through time... The Doctor thinks we can stop it, but I don't want to wait a round to find out."

He stepped closer to the console.

"What's a Weeping Angel?"

"Creatures that look like stone angels, they can send you back through time... I have to stop this from happening, don't you see that? I have to do this my way because he's my child and I have to protect him."

"And the Doctor is his father, and also a Timelord many centuries older than you who, I suspect, knows better than you - due to his great age."

"That's not necessarily true. He can make mistakes like anyone else, he doesn't know all of that which is to come, he knows some things, but certainly not all."

Johnny had listened to all she had to say, and then he nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand your point of view. But really, you shouldn't just run off. Think about everything you've been through with him. He's been very ill, even then you stuck by him – I don't think he would have made such a good recovery like he has if he didn't have your support. He loves you, Clara. And if you leave him now and take his son away I think it could destroy him emotionally. You must know that too."

Tears clouded her eyes.

"But what else can I do? I have to keep my son safe!"

"And you think he doesn't want to do that too? You need to stand together on this!"

She paused for thought.

"I know you're right," she admitted, "But I keep thinking up this crazy idea to grab my son and run away and keep him safe from harm for always, take him far from here and know that at least I don't lose him, even if I lose the Doctor."

Johnny looked intently at her.

"But _could _you?"

"What do you mean?"

"_If you had to chose between the Doctor's life or Raymond's, what would you do?"_

His words had taken her by surprise.

"Why would you ask a question like that? And what sort of question is that anyway? No one should _ever_ have to make that kind of choice!"

"I'm just saying, there's facts you don't know, there has to be something you're missing, or the Doctor has yet to find out – you need to make a plan together and stick to it. You need to stand together on this. Please don't run off with his kid._ Think_ about this."

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted, "I'd like to think I could fly the Tardis if I needed to, but I can't be sure I could do it...at least, not safely."

"_Well,I can."_

She stared at him.

"You can fly a Tardis?"

Johnny smiled.

He looked down at the console and ran his fingertip affectionately along it.

"It's changed a bit since I last saw it. But you see I recall the other Doctor, the man he used to be before he regenerated. The young man with the bow tie who fought for Trenzalore. He let me in the Tardis once and showed me around. You see, he was there a long time, he had to do a lot of maintenance to his ship, and I helped him."

As he stood across the console from her, Clara was still staring at him.

"No, you said your grandparents handed down a tale of the Doctor's defence of Trenzalore -"

"I lied. I'm not only a professor of neurology, I'm also a scientist. I figured out a way to tamper with my genetic coding to slow down the ageing process. _I'm five hundred years old_."

She was still staring at him.

"You didn't tell the Doctor any of this."

"No, and I still remember what the Trenzalore war was like – it was terrible. Why stir up those memories for him and bring it so much closer to home? His mind has been through enough with the regeneration process, let alone having a head injury on top of that. He doesn't remember me, so I said I heard the stories from my grandparents to put a distance between him and the memories. My way of looking out for him. So, now you know everything about me, also know that I could fly this thing and take you anywhere you wanted to go – but I won't - because it's the wrong thing to do and I think you know that too. So if you don't want to listen to your two thousand year old lover, would you listen to his five hundred year old friend, and _please_ take that tired little boy back to bed, and then join the Doctor before he wakes up and gets the fright of his long life to find you gone?"

Clara slowly nodded.

"You're right," she said quietly, and then she held her hand out to her son.

"Come on Raymond, we have to go back home now."

And as they walked from the Tardis, Johnny watched them leave, and then he left too, and as he stepped outside, he snapped his fingers, and the Tardis doors closed firmly behind him.

* * *

><p>When morning came, Clara woke up after a brief sleep that had lasted somewhere between three in the morning and sunrise, and she turned her head to see the Doctor was still sleeping peacefully beside her.<p>

"_I'm so sorry,"_ she whispered as tears pricked at her eyes and she thought of what she had almost done, something so terrible, something that would have hurt the man she loved so much that it would have destroyed their relationship beyond all repair, and now, in the first light of morning, she was so thankful for Johnny's advice and the fact that she had listened and turned back:

_Of course it would be okay, of course Raymond would be safe – the Doctor had promised, he had said they could easily protect him...she had no need to run away..._

Then the Doctor stirred, gave a sigh and opened his eyes to see Clara on her side and looking intently at him.

"It will be okay," he promised again, "We can handle this, Clara – we can do this together."

"I know that now," she whispered, and then as tears pricked at her vision she closed her eyes to hold back from crying as her lips met with his and she kissed him deeply. He reached for her and she rolled over, feeling the weight of him on top of her, they were still kissing as she wrapped her legs around him and he gently began to make love to her, and with every touch, every kiss, every movement of their bodies in unison, she vowed this would be the sealing of her promise to him :

_Of course they would see this through together – they would always be together, she would never abandon him..._

* * *

><p>Later on that morning while Raymond was in the garden chasing and antagonising Strax, who took the actions of the<em> irritating young human<em> in a mix of grudging patience and good humour, Clara and the Doctor slipped away in the Tardis, the Doctor had taken off quietly and discreetly so their son would not hear the sound of the blue box departing.

As they sped on through time and space heading for the year 2060, Clara stood beside the Doctor in silence as she thought of the reason for this trip:

_There were too many unanswered questions, about their son and his wife... _

"I'm not sure how we can go about asking Raymond too much without making him suspicious," the Doctor told her, "I promised our son I would do nothing to endanger his future time line. He can't find out we have every intention of breaking that promise."

Then Clara's eyes sparkled as she thought of an idea.

"Say we came back to see them both, because we wanted them to know you're cured now!"

The Doctor nodded.

"I like that. And maybe we could mention Johnny and say we'd like a copy of my medical notes to show him how they used to do things back in 2060."

"I think he will fall for that," Clara replied, and the Doctor looked at her thoughtfully.

"You're getting good at lying, well done. A bad habit but sometimes a necessity."

"I'm not proud of it."

"But he is our son, and we have the power to change what happens to his childhood, and there is no other way."

"I know," she replied, "I couldn't bear to have him grow up without us."

"He won't," the Doctor promised, and then the Tardis reached its destination, and landed softly.

* * *

><p>As they stepped out of the Tardis and into the front room of Raymond and Nina's apartment, a door to the kitchen opened and Nina stepped out looking very surprised to see her visitors.<p>

"Doctor!" she exclaimed, and then as he smiled, so did she.

"You look so well!"

"He is," Clara added, "The injury's repaired, even the scar has been taken off. He's fine now - I've got him back, _all_ of him."

"That is such good news!" she said, and she grabbed the Doctor and hugged him, and he froze awkwardly, gave her a brief squeeze and then stepped back, _right_ back, to cancel out the possibility of getting grabbed a second time.

Clara glanced around the room.

"Where's Raymond?"

"At work," she replied, "But it's my day off, thank goodness I was home when you showed up! I can't wait to tell him how well you look, Doctor!"

And then she turned back to the kitchen.

"Coffee all round!" she announced, "Sit down, make yourself at home!"

And the Doctor and Clara sat down on the sofa.

The Doctor kept his voice low as he turned to Clara.

"This is going to be easier than I thought," he told her, "She trusts us, she won't see through any of it."

Ten minutes later, Nina had rejoined them and set down the coffee and started to ask about the Doctor's recovery.

"I need to know everything," she said, "Raymond will want to know, it's going to mean so much to him to hear all about how you were cured."

The Doctor set down his coffee and settled back comfortably on the sofa.

"Well, I ran through the Tardis database for a suitable surgeon in the far distant future who had the kind of tech skills to fix the problem with a minimally invasive procedure," he said, "And I found Professor Johnny Von Straten. He repaired the injury in less than fifteen minutes. And I feel absolutely fine now."

Then he smiled warmly at Nina.

"I just had to come back and let you both know all was well. By the way, how did you and Raymond meet?"

She frowned.

"It's better if I don't tell you that."

"I know he's my son," the Doctor said, "He also told me that he will, at some point in his life, encounter Weeping Angels. But he didn't say when. I was wondering if that's already happened? I mean, does he need his old man to look out for him on this, or is it already over with?"

The Doctor had spoken so warmly, so casually, as if he had no clue of all that had happened in Raymond's childhood...

Nina paused for thought, sipped her coffee and then looked back at the Doctor and Clara.

"We met in the late nineteen eighties," she replied, and the Doctor and Clara both stared at her.

"You're not from this time either?"

She laughed.

"I met him in a pub. We had a couple of drinks and then he said he wanted to take me for a walk, you know, it was evening, it was summertime, there was a churchyard behind the pub...he said he had an interesting story about the place, but that was for another time... "

Then she paused, drawing in a slow breath as she remembered a not so pleasant memory:

"It was a stone angel. It had its face covered, and then it didn't – and Raymond pulls this thing out of his pocket and zaps it, just as I blinked... I found myself in the future. I now know those things are meant to send you back into the past, but he did something with that old sonic screwdriver -"

"What sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor asked.

"The one that another version of you gave him many years ago, he said to keep it, just I case he ever needed it – well, it still worked. Instead of sending me into the past, the angel's power was reversed and it sent me into the future. I worked for five years at earth defence, then as soon as I was cleared to use a time manipulation device -"

The Doctor had guessed the rest.

"You set it to the moment after the angel took you, and reappeared in the churchyard, with a spare time device for Raymond, and he went with you into the future, where you got him a job in your department, and the two of you have been together ever since?"

She smiled.

"Of course."

"You went back for him?" Clara said in surprise, "Why?"

The look in Nina's eyes softened.

"_Because I knew from the moment I met him, I knew I loved him,"_ she replied.

The Doctor smiled warmly.

"What a lovely story," he said, and Clara knew he was lying. He had all the information he needed now to alter everything, to stop Raymond running off, to stop the angels ever taking him, and to ensure his future was altered, meaning he and Nina would never meet, and her life would change too, she would never be sent to the future, never work for earth defence in the year 2060...

The Doctor checked his watch.

"We should make a move now – I promised our Raymond we wouldn't be gone too long."

And the Doctor rose from his seat.

Then Clara remembered something.

"Before we go, could I have a copy of the Doctor's medical records? Johnny would love to see how he was treated back in this time, he would really appreciate the historical value of it."

She agreed without hesitation.

"Certainly. And do thank him for all his help, its wonderful to see the Doctor looking so well, Clara."

Then she left the room, and as Clara got up too she looked at the Doctor and shook her head.

"I am getting _too_ good at lying these days!"

"That's a good thing when its for our son." he replied.

Moments later she returned with some photocopied notes that she slid into a large envelope.

"There you go," she said, and she handed them to Clara.

"Thank you," she replied, still not feeling sure if being called a good liar ought to be a compliment or not, even thought this was for the benefit of their son...

Then they said their farewells and promised to return another time to catch up, and then the Doctor and Clara returned to the Tardis, which quickly took off, leaving the year of 2060 far behind once more.

* * *

><p>As they travelled back through time towards Victorian England where their young son was waiting for them, the Doctor passed the time at the console, checking over the controls.<p>

Clara had stepped away from the console and turned to the view of the time vortex as she opened up the envelope and drew out the first of the Doctor's medical notes from 2060, feeling sure Johnny would be fascinated to see this, because he would view it as an ancient piece of medical history...

Then she began to silently read the notes, and as she read on, she saw something stated in the admission section filled in by the medic who had rushed the Doctor to the emergency room after the shooting, and tears burned at her eyes as she realised what this meant:

Johnny's words came back to her, and she felt sure when he had mentioned choosing between them, he had simply been trying to talk her out of running away. But now those words took on a deeper and far more terrible meaning, one that she could not even mention yet to the Doctor, because the dilemma was too dreadful to contemplate:  
>Nina had been sent to the future because of Raymond using an old sonic screwdriver, she had come back for him and he had gone to the future with her.<p>

_And it clearly stated in the medical report, that the Doctor's survival immediately after the shooting had been thanks to the first aid given by Mrs Nina Lethbridge-Stewart..._

_If they didn't let their son go on to live this future life, Nina would not be there to tend to the Doctor's wounds after the shooting..._

Clara kept her back turned as the Doctor talked about how he was looking forward to getting home and seeing their son once more. She blinked away tears as she realised she had an impossible choice on her hands:  
>To let Raymond go, and be taken by the angels, or to change it, and have the Doctor die from the head injury because Nina would not be there to save him in an altered future...<p>

_Her son or her lover._

_How was she supposed to make a choice like that?_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"_Clara, you've been quiet ever since we got back."_

"Have I?"

As she replied she was standing at the bedroom window, looking out as she watched evening shadows deepen over Victorian London.

"I bet Johnny will be thrilled to see those medical notes from 2060 – when you gave them to him he said he couldn't wait to get reading about antique surgical methods..._I took a look at those notes too."_

She turned from the window.

The Doctor was relaxing on the bed, his coat was off, his shoes were off and his shirt was open as he enjoyed the evening breeze that drifted through the open window.

And then he caught the look in her eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

She thought about the terrible choice she faced, and shook her head. Maybe in time she would tell him, if or when the time ever became right :

_The Doctor would not change his mind._

_He would gladly give up anything for his son, even his own life..._

_Yet he was missing the fact that even though Raymond was taken by the Weeping Angels, the life he grew up to have would be a good one, and Nina was the love of his life – did they really have the right to deny him his future happiness and ensure he never met her?_

_Was that being a good parent, to be selfish, to gain a few more years of his childhood and teenage years, just to watch him grow, when letting him go would mean that at least they could be completely sure his happiness in later life was guaranteed?_

_She wanted to tell him._

_She wanted to tell the Doctor everything, as much as knowing all she did as a mother also made her want to grab Raymond and run back to the Tardis all over again and this time take off, take him back to her own time and keep him safe..._

_But what gave either of them the right to deny him happiness in his future?_

_They were acting out of their own selfishness, more than that, if they stopped him leaving, he would never meet Nina and she would not be there to administer the first aid that kept the Doctor alive in the moments after the shooting..._

The Doctor was still looking at her intently.

"What's wrong?"

And she shook her head and went over to the bed and sat down beside him, gently running her hand over his exposed chest as she felt the beat of twin hearts.

"Nothing," she said, remembering all he had been through and knowing for certain he didn't need any of this worry right now – it was not yet coming to pass, Raymond would be six years old before the danger was present...

"I was thinking," the Doctor said to her, "Maybe we could keep him here until he's at least eight – that would change the time line. And we're happy enough here for now, aren't we?"

Clara nodded.

"Sounds good to me."

Then the Doctor smiled.

"And while we're here, perhaps we could get to work on baby number two, what do you say to that?"

There it was again, there was a flicker of apprehension in her eyes...

"You do want more kids?" he asked, "I hope so, because I've been thinking, and I do remember saying that to you now. And I'd like Raymond to have a brother or sister. For now, we're not going anywhere, that solves the problem once and for all – if he doesn't travel in the Tardis, they can't take him. So while we wait for the danger to pass, let's have another baby."

She was still looking at him, unsure of how to respond. It was difficult to think about bringing a second child into the world when she was still afraid for her son and an impossible choice that had to be made...

"Clara?"

"Yes," she agreed, "That would be a good idea..."

"_But?"_

"But, _nothing - _stop looking at me like you think I'm hiding something, I'm not!"

The Doctor looked into her eyes, and she caught a flicker of something deep and ancient that reminded her he was indeed alien, not just alien but a man who had lived many centuries...

"Don't lie to me Clara."

"_I'm not!"_

"And yet you said that a little too emphatically."

"Maybe I don't like being accused of lying."

"You don't like being caught out when lying badly. What's wrong?" he demanded.

She shook her head.

"Nothing really, I just keep thinking about Raymond -"

He put his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Don't worry about our son. If we stay here until he's a little bit older, the time line is changed. That's all we have to do. I told you I can keep him safe, and I will."

Clara shifted closer to him, feeling comforted by the closeness of his body.

"We will both keep him safe," she whispered, and her heart ached as she wondered if changing his destiny could ever be truly considered keeping him safe – but what other choice could there be? The Doctor would not survive if Nina was not there to treat his wounds – and she definitely would _not_ be there in 2060 if they stopped Raymond from being sent through time by the Weeping Angels...

_She was too afraid to tell him of the dilemma, because she was sure the Doctor would put his son's life before his own. _

_She simply did not know what to do..._

"I love you so very much," she whispered as she looked up at him, and as the Doctor saw tears in her eyes, he pulled her closer, down on to the bed and tightly into his arms.

"Oh Clara, don't cry! All the bad stuff is over now! Come here, kiss me..."

She returned his kisses as her tears dampened his cheeks, but the Doctor continued to kiss her, then as his hands slid gently over her body she lost herself in a beautiful moment of togetherness, as he whispered that he loved her, and he wanted them to have more children...

* * *

><p>As the days passed, Johnny asked if he could stay on as he felt quite at home in Victorian London, and as he was a polite house guest who Madame Vastra enjoyed taking tea with, his request was granted.<p>

_Then a few short weeks later Clara discovered she was pregnant again._

The Doctor had smiled on hearing the news, and simply said, _"I told you so – I said I could make that happen any time I wanted to,"_ And for once she did not resent the fact that he had taken control over the decision, because she was overjoyed to be carrying a second child by the man she loved so dearly – and for a while, she put thoughts of the dangers that loomed in the future to the back of her mind...

Then the Doctor had hired a nanny for their son, a young woman named Bella Cartwright, who would also work as Raymond's tutor. Clara had pointed out that she was more than capable of teaching their son, but the Doctor had looked into her eyes as he had taken hold of her hands and reminded her that she was two months pregnant, and he wanted her to rest, because he loved her, and he had said that so kindly that his words had warmed through her heart, and she had agreed with him.

* * *

><p>Bella was a short, slender woman with fair hair and wide, green eyes, and those eyes often grew wider on passing Madame Vastra in the hallway, or looking curiously at the strangely misshapen butler named Strax.<p>

One morning in autumn, as the leaves began to fall on to the well kept lawn, as Strax raked them away, Bella took a walk with Clara while Raymond was in the front room studying alone.

"How are you finding it here, do you like it?" Clara asked her.

Bella smiled.

"Your son is a pleasure to teach, a very bight boy... But poor Madame Vastra, how difficult it must be for her to live with such a terrible skin condition – to live behind a veil in public must bring her such misery!"

Clara suppressed a smile as they walked down the pathway back towards the house.

"I can assure you she is happy enough."

"_And poor Mr Strax..."_

Bella turned as the wind blew and leaves grown dry and cracked from the change of season fluttered through the air as she watched him work, "He is _so _deformed!"

"He's not actually deformed, he's just _not like us_," Clara replied.

"That is a very kind and charitable thing to say, Clara – but it is clear Mr Strax _is_ deformed."

And once again Clara thought how many awkward dilemmas she had been keeping silent about. Bella didn't know the people who lived in this house were aliens – it would certainly come as a shock, and it was something she was not going to explain for fear of the consequences...

"But he is a nice man," Bella added, and as Strax spotted her on the path, she smiled and waved to him.

He looked back at her with a sullen expression, and waved back before getting on with the task of raking the leaves.

"I have asked him to join me in the parlour tonight, for tea and to chat with him about his life."

"That should be interesting!" Clara exclaimed.

"Yes, perhaps," Bella replied, and her face flushed and Clara looked at her in surprise as she wondered why she hadn't spotted it before – no doubt being pregnant had made her miss a lot of what was going on around her lately, because she was going through such big changes all over again, but she saw it now... _Bella liked Strax?_

Then Bella changed the subject.

"I had better go and see how Raymond is getting along with his work," she replied, and then she quickened her pace, hurrying up the path back towards the house

As the breeze picked up and more leaves scattered about Clara continued to walk on with a smile on her face as she thought of what she had just learned:

_Bella and Strax?_ _She couldn't wait to tell the Doctor about that!_

* * *

><p><em>More time passed. <em>

Autumn slipped away and chilly winter took over, covering Victorian London with heavy snow. Every time the snow came down, Clara remembered how it had been snowing the night Raymond was born. His birthday came and went, Christmas came and went, and all around her the house was lively and joyful and she and the Doctor enjoyed many warm evenings by the fireside with Madame Vastra and Jenny while Raymond played with his new train set, and Johnny made his excuses to take himself off to the library to read up on Vastra's many fascinating books about the history of alien cultures.

_They felt like family, all of them._

It seemed everything had come together so perfectly, and everyone had been happy on New Year's Eve when Strax had cautiously reached for Bella's hand and grasped it and announced, albeit in a sombre tone, that _this puny human female should now be considered his mate_, and then he had smiled, briefly.

It was the start of a new year and nothing was wrong, absolutely nothing at all, but time had passed, and now Raymond was six years old and when she was alone Clara thought on the choice she had to make and often wept over it.

She was almost five months pregnant now, she knew she ought to be happy for the baby's sake, because she and the Doctor had so much to look forward to – but that was only on the surface, no one knew about the terrible decision she would have to make, and that choice was looming closer by the day...

* * *

><p>Every night as she lay beside the Doctor and watched him sleeping as moonlight fell on his pillow and made his grey hair glow silver, she would study his face as her heart ached and she thought of the future and agonised over her decision:<p>

_Her lover or her son..._

_How could anyone ever make such a choice?_

_She couldn't even decide by asking herself what the Doctor would do in her place – he loved his son, he would give his life for him if he felt there was no other way..._

As she lay there in the moonlight and the Doctor slept on peacefully, her mind was in turmoil as she wondered how to handle this situation:

To keep Raymond away from the Tardis and time travel would ensure his safety and they would not lose him - but doing this would also kill the Doctor, because changing his past would mean no one would be there to tend to his wounds after the shooting, and she did not know how to get around that – it had already happened, she could not go back and help him because at that moment, she had been cradling him in her arms as she screamed for help, holding on to him as his blood soaked through her clothing.

_The moment had been and gone, and could not be rewritten..._

She gave a heavy sigh as she turned her head and watched him sleeping.

"_I don't know what to do,"_ she whispered, _"How can I choose between you and our son? I can't, I just can't do it..."_

* * *

><p>Clara's dilemma seemed to have no solution, and knowing that weighed heavy on her as the days passed by.<p>

The Doctor was oblivious to her fears, each time he put his hand on her belly and felt the baby move or kick his eyes lit up with joy, and he would call to Raymond to feel his sister kick. The baby was definitely a girl, Strax had confirmed it – and Strax was right about the gender, because he had used his scanner and the scanner had confirmed the Doctor and Clara were having a daughter.

Clara felt a strange sense of guilt over her lack of joy over the new baby – her thoughts were too clouded up with fear for the future and the threat to the Doctor because of his plan to alter Raymond's destiny.

Clara cherished every moment she spent with her son, and when she held him, she hugged him longer and tighter than usual, because he was six years old now, and she knew it would not be long before something out there in the web of destiny set about its play to bring that destiny full circle one way or another...

* * *

><p>And then, on a bright early spring morning, something happened, something that would not have happened had the Doctor not met Johnny Von Straten.<p>

Johnny had complained that his window was damp and leaking water from the melting ice on the outside of the glass.

Strax had placed a ladder against the side of the house and gone up to clean the window - and moments later there had been a scrape of wood along brick work as the ladder had slipped, and Strax had crashed to the ground far below.

The Doctor and Clara had run out of the house, followed by Madame Vastra and Jenny.

Johnny had looked out of the window and shouted that he would be straight down, and told them not to move him.

And as Bella came out of the house she gave a gasp and sank to her knees on the patio beside Strax, who was on his back and coughing painfully as green blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"Do something!" Bella said tearfully, and Jenny stood over her with her hands on her shoulders, but her gesture did little to stop Bella's tears.

"_Strax!" _she said, and sobbed again.

Strax dragged in a breath and opened his eyes, coughed more blood and then as she clung to his hand, Bella realised something:

"_Green blood?"_

"He's Sontaran," the Doctor told her, "An alien, in other words, not from this planet. I would have thought he might have told you that by now!"

"_Out of my way...move please, Bella!"_

She shifted aside as Johnny leaned over the injured Sontaran. He cautiously felt his body through the fabric of his butler's suit and Strax gave a cry of agony.

"_Do not let me die like this...it is not...a death in battle!"_ he protested.

"You're not going to die!" Johnny told him, "Forget about dying."

Then he got up and glanced to Madame Vastra.

"Get him a blanket, keep him warm – but _don't_ move him."

The Doctor looked down at Strax, his breathing was becoming shallow as his eyes closed.

"Will he make it?" he said in a low voice.

Johnny turned from the others and spoke quickly and quietly.

"He's got internal injuries_._ I can treat him but I need to go back home for my tool kit. Doctor, we need to go now!"

The Doctor was already drawing the Tardis key from his pocket.

"I'm coming with you," Clara said.

"Don't worry," Jenny told her, "We'll look after Strax," and just as she said that, Madame Vastra returned and carefully draped a blanket over the injured Sontaran.

"_Don't_ move him!" Johnny repeated, and then he ran off to join the Doctor and Clara, who were heading for the Tardis.

* * *

><p>The Doctor unlocked the door and went inside, Clara followed and then Johnny entered the Tardis, and as the door swung back to shut, a tiny hand stopped it just in time as young Raymond, slightly breathless from the run, pushed open the door and slipped into the Tardis to join his parents.<p>

He darted away from the door and lingered in the shadows as the lights glowed. He watched the adults around the console talking about poor Strax, and then his father threw a lever, and Raymond felt a flicker of excitement as the Tardis whooshed and groaned, and then took flight.

The grown ups were too worried to turn around and spot him standing there, and Raymond said nothing, instead the little boy remained silent in the shadows at the back of the console room, his eyes filled with wonder as he watched a wide screen that showed the view beyond the Tardis – the view of space and stars and a whirling, colourful vortex as they travelled through time...

He was still worried about Strax, but for now, the little boy was thrilled to be inside the Tardis:

_At last, he was travelling through time and space - and no one knew he was on board..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was Johnny who spotted the boy hiding in the shadows away from the glow that lit up the console area.

"Doctor," he said, "Look who sneaked on board!"

The Doctor turned and stared at the sight of his son, standing in the console room.

"_I told you never to come in here!"_ he said angrily, and Clara quickly stepped closer, took Raymond by the hand and led him over to the controls, where he stood and looked up at his father awkwardly.

"Sorry Daddy," he said.

"_Sorry?"_ the Doctor fumed, "_Sorry_, under these circumstances, is just a word and it means _nothing_ when you are somewhere you are not supposed to be – and for a very, _very_ good reason!"

As his son looked up at him with a startled expression, Clara spoke softly to her lover, reminding him to tone down his anger.

_"Doctor, our son is six years old!"_

Her words got through.

The Doctor's expression changed as the fire in his eyes cooled.

"I told you the Tardis can be a dangerous place for a child to be! I wish you had stayed at home. Stay with mummy and keep a tight hold on her hand and do _not _let go until we are back home, do you understand?"

The little boy nodded.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," he said again.

"Just hold your mother's hand," the Doctor replied, "And don't let go. Promise me you'll do that."

Raymond nodded, and finally the Doctor's expression softened.

"Good boy son, just do as you are told," he added, then he affectionately ruffled his hair and turned back to the console.

And Clara kept a firm grip on her son's hand.

As she stood there watching the Doctor fly the Tardis and listened as Johnny talked about how they had to hurry because Strax didn't have much time, it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she had little time with her son now that he had finally joined the Tardis on a flight through time – _would this be the flight that saw him snatched away?_

"Come with me," she said, and she led her son through the console room and up the Tardis corridor, away from the others.

* * *

><p>When they stopped walking Raymond looked up at her and as she clung to his hand, she used every ounce of her strength to hold back her tears.<p>

"I want to tell you something and you must always remember it," she said softly, "No matter what happens in your life, one day, you will be so very happy. You're going to meet a lady who you love, and she loves you and..."

She paused, struggling to hold back her tears as she thought of how Nina had travelled back through time just to find Raymond and give him the time manipulation device. She had made a life in the future, got a job that gave her access to time travel – she had done all that for Raymond, to find him again - because she loved him...

"_And like I love Daddy,"_ she told him, _"The lady you marry will always, always be there for you. She would do anything for you, she will always be on your side, I know you don't understand this now, but one day you will because that lady is your whole life, sweetheart – she's going to be everything to you, and you will be everything to her."_

And as her son looked up at her with a puzzled expression, she looked away as she blinked to clear her vision.

"_And no one has the right to rip that chance away from you,"_ she whispered, _"Not even me, or daddy..."_

And then she looked down at her son, took in every detail of his face and felt gripped by a terror that seemed to threaten to suck the life out of her – it was the thought of losing him.

"What am I saying?" she said tearfully, "You're my baby! Come here!"

And she leaned down and hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, then she pulled back and forced a smile as she looked into his eyes. She saw so much of his father in him – and if Raymond did not run, the Doctor would be gone, because Nina would not be there to save him...

Her heart was pounding as she led him back up the corridor towards the console room. By the time she got there, she had pulled back her emotions even though she was shaking on the inside:

_She knew it was time to make a choice._

_She felt it, even though the Tardis was still in flight._

_This was it, time to choose – the Doctor's life, or her son's altered future..._

_And she looked at the Doctor, and then to her son._

_In that moment, it dawned her there was only one choice to make..._

* * *

><p>As lights blinked on the console the Doctor frowned.<p>

"This isn't right...I think we've landed a bit off course..."

And then he paused, listening as the engines faded out, casting a glance towards the door as he wondered exactly what had drawn the Tardis down to the wrong destination...

"What about Strax?" Johnny said, "He's bleeding to death, we _don't_ have time to solve a mystery!"

"And this," the Doctor said as he pressed some buttons, "Is a time machine – we _will _get back in good time! I'm just trying to figure out what happened... something locked on to the Tardis...if can send out enough output, then if I can find something to shatter the external power source with..." he paused, altering more settings, "Done it. Now I just have to figure out what we need to break."

And as Clara watched the Doctor, her grip on her son's hand loosened. As he tugged away from her she gasped, turning to see him running for the Tardis door.

"Raymond!" she said in alarm, and as she watched him racing for the door, she remembered something she had once said to the Doctor, and now she knew why, as she thought of Raymond and his altered future, his amazing life and the amazing woman he would meet and fall in love with and marry...

Now she knew those words she had once spoken had never really been meant for the Doctor, they had been meant for his son...

"_Run you clever boy,"_ she whispered as tears ran down her face.

"Raymond!" the Doctor yelled, and he dashed after him.

He reached for him as he darted for the door, and someone grabbed his sleeve sharply, tugging him back.

"_No!"_

His son was gone out of the Tardis door.

He turned in shock to see the person who had stopped him was... Clara? Her face was streaked with tears as she looked into his eyes.

"_What have you done?"_ the Doctor yelled.

"I just saved you!" Clara said as more tears ran down her face, "He _has_ to be taken by the Angels, or he never meets Nina, the love of his life! No Nina, no one there to tend to your injuries and save your life after the shooting! _THINK!_"

The Doctor stared at her.

"It was always meant to be this way," she said tearfully, "There was no choice to make but the right one – for love! He gets to have a wonderful life with her, and you get to live! Everybody wins!"

He was still staring at her.

He didn't want any of what she had just said to make sense, but it did...

"What's happened?" Johnny asked from over at the console.

"Just stay where you are," the Doctor said, "I'm going outside."

And he left the Tardis.

Clara looked back at Johnny.

"_Stay!" _she said sharply, and then she went outside after him.

* * *

><p>As she stepped outside she looked around, saw they were in an old graveyard, but saw no sign of their son. Then she saw something else and she froze, grabbing the sleeve of the Doctor's jacket as she drew in a shocked breath:<p>

_They were face to face with three Weeping Angels..._

"You know the score," the Doctor said.

"Don't look at them...don't blink..."

"Right..."

"What are we going to do?" she whispered.

"Haven't a clue," the Doctor replied, "Someone needs to do a clever thing..."

"Like what?" she said.

The Doctor's gaze had shifted between the Angels, to the wall at the back of the graveyard, where a word had been written in large lettering, in fresh paint still drying in the sunlight.

"Like _that_, on the wall. There's our thing."

She read the word.

"_Duck?"_

The Doctor smiled.

"That's my boy! _Do it!_"

And he grabbed her tightly and flung himself to the ground, taking her with him. She fell to her knees, then put a protective hand on her belly as she thought of her unborn child, and rolled on her side. As she hit the ground he put his arm around her, pinning her down as a shot rang out and stone exploded. There was another shot, and then another, and more debris rained down around them. The Doctor held her down as they waited for the last of the rubble and the dust to fall.

Then he got up, helped her to her feet and paused to brush dust from his suit.

"We needed something to shatter them," he said, "Nice work. And very good timing!"

And Clara looked up to see her son walking towards them, not as a boy, but as the grown man she recognised from the future. He was carrying a shotgun at his side and he smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"I've been practicing for years! I've been blowing the heads off stone angels since I was a teenager!"

The Doctor glanced at the weapon he carried.

"Why a twelve gauge?"

Raymond's eyes filled with warmth at a fond memory.

"The Brigadier gave me this shotgun when I was eighteen. He taught me how to shoot."

Then he propped the weapon against a nearby gravestone and stepped forward and hugged the Doctor, then he let go and turned to his mother.

"I know the time frame – to you, I just ran out the Tardis door. But I used the time manipulator to get back to this moment to deal with the Angels for you. And mum, you know what you said about that lady I'd meet one day? _Well you was right – Nina does love me like you love dad. She's amazing._"

Clara blinked away tears as she looked into her son's eyes and saw such joy shining there.

"How long have you been with her?" she asked him.

"We've been married for twenty five years," Raymond replied.

"Clara told me everything," the Doctor said to his son, "She pointed out something I hadn't realised – if you never met Nina there would be no one to save me after the shooting."

"I know," he replied, "And mum did the right thing, for both of us."

As Clara smiled, she felt all her sadness lift – she knew she would always miss the little boy she had not seen grow up, but the man he had become had a happy life with the woman he loved, and she could not wish any child of hers more than that...

The Doctor looked intently at his son.

"What happened after the angels sent you back in time? I want to know who gave you the old sonic screwdriver."

Raymond paused, thinking back to a memory of a time when he had been a frightened, lost young boy, taken in by the Brigadier because he had said his father was called the Doctor and had a blue box called Tardis...

"The Brigadier introduced me to a man, who had a Tardis like yours – he said he was the Doctor, but not the one I knew as my father. Then this Doctor told me that one day, his face would change, and he would be you, but not for many years. He was tall, had grey hair, he wore a cloak and I remember, he was a very kind man. He gave me the screwdriver, he said it was an old one, but it had just enough power left in it to help if I ever needed to use it."

"And you used it when you and Nina encountered the Weeping Angels twenty years later," the Doctor guessed, "And instead of sending her into the past she went to the future, where she built up a life, and then came back for you."

Raymond smiled.

"That's right, she did. She's always looked out for me and she always will."

And Clara felt her heart fill with warmth as thought of the love her son shared with his wife – a strong, unbreakable bond, one that was meant to be...

"So the Brigadier raised you?"

Raymond nodded.

"He was a second father to me. He knew all about the Angels and what happened to me, and he always said, one day, I bet you encounter them again. When you do I want you to be ready."

"And he taught you how to shoot," he replied.

"He taught me very well. But I still can't figure out how the screwdriver sent Nina into the future when I used it against the Angels, though...I remember the other Doctor said something about, if in doubt, always reverse the polarity of...something...I'm not sure what I did!"

The Doctor looked at him with a bemused expression.

"You should know, because you're the son of a Timelord. But you don't quite get it – I think it must be because I wasn't completely myself when I conceived you, I was still recovering from the shooting. That's why you're so human and not much Timelord."

Raymond laughed.

"Nina says the same thing. She always says, she can't believe I'm the son of a Timelord, because I'm so...basic. What _did_ I do with that screwdriver, dad?"

The Doctor smiled.

"You did a clever thing," he told him, "That's all you need to know."

And then there was a sharp flash of light that lasted for a split second, and Nina walked between graves and made her way over to them.

Clara watched as she approached and smiled warmly:

_There she was, of course she had come along – there might have been danger, and she wouldn't have let Raymond face that alone, because she loved him..._

Nina glanced around.

"I see no Weeping Angels."

"They're gone," Raymond said to her, "It's over."

And as she looked into his eyes and then embraced him, she spotted the shotgun propped up against a gravestone and let go of him, looking at him in surprise.

"_You got them with a twelve gauge?"_

He laughed softly and nodded.

"I used the Brigadier's old shot gun, sentimental reasons."

She smiled.

"You're so basic, Raymond!" and she indicated to the blaster holstered at her side, "I'd brought state of the art kit with me, thinking you needed help!"

"The Brigadier's shotgun was good enough for the job," he told her, and as she looked at him and he looked at her, Clara knew that look – it was one of love, deepest love, the same look she and the Doctor often exchanged...

Then Johnny came out of the Tardis.

"What's going on? I heard shots, I'm not waiting in there while it sounds like the wild west out here! And where's your son gone?"

"He's here," the Doctor said, indicating to Raymond.

"Its a time travel thing," Clara added, "He grew up a long time ago."

Johnny stared at him.

"Right..." he said, still trying to make sense of their explanation.

Then Raymond checked the time device on his wrist.

"We'd better go," he said, "I'll see you again, dad. I won't stop away too long."

The Doctor smiled.

"You'd better make sure you do keep in touch."

And the two men embraced, and then as the Doctor let go, Raymond turned to his mother.

"You was right about everything, mum," he said, and then he hugged her too.

As he stepped back, Nina was at his side.

"Time to leave," she reminded him, "These devices don't always give us as long as we want – especially when its on unauthorised use!"

And Raymond paused to retrieve his beloved shotgun, then he and Nina exchanged a smile, linked hands and there was a flash of light, and then they were gone.

The Doctor and Clara turned to see Johnny looking at them with a confused expression.

"It's a long story," he told him.

"And we don't have time for that now," Johnny reminded them, "You need to take me back home to pick up my tool kit, remember?"

"Yes of course," the Doctor replied, and he and Clara went back inside the Tardis and closed the door.

As the Doctor re set the co ordinates, Johnny checked his watch.

"You'd better hurry up," he said again.

As the Tardis took off the Doctor looked at him with a glance that suggested his patience was wearing thin.

"This is a _time_ machine, as I told you before - I can take us right back to a moment shortly after we left!"

"And that might _not_ be soon enough," Johnny reminded them,_"We have to hurry, Doctor – Strax is bleeding to death!"_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The rest of the journey proved uneventful, the Doctor took Johnny back to his own time to retrieve the tool kit and then they set off back to Victorian England. And Clara remained silent for the rest of the journey, feeling a mix of emotions – she could not mourn for the loss of a child who was not lost – she knew Raymond was alive and well and happy and that was the best she could wish for him – but at the same time she knew it would be a long while before she would set foot in the blue painted bedroom that had belonged to her six year old son...

Then the baby growing inside her kicked and she placed her hand on her belly as she looked down and smiled – at least her daughter would bring no painful reminders of Raymond's lost childhood – this was a new start, and she had been in the middle of this new start for a long while, without coming to understand that until now. No dangers lurked in their daughter's future, she felt it as sure as she knew the destiny of their son had been unique, and still was, but their daughter – she was the new beginning, and she knew she had to embrace that fact completely, or else she would spend forever mourning the loss of a son who was not really lost...

And then the Tardis landed once more and they hurried outside, hoping Johnny was wrong about Strax having no time left at all...

* * *

><p>"Where is young Raymond?" asked Madame Vastra.<p>

Johnny had opened up his medical kit and knelt down on the patio beside Strax, whose breathing was shallow.

"He's grown up now and lives with a wife called Nina," Clara said, and as Madame Vastra looked into her eyes she saw such understanding and compassion there that it took all of her self control not to weep over what had happened.

"But he's fine," she added, "He's happy."

Then she glanced around as Johnny worked on the wounded Sontaran and saw no sign of his partner.

"Where's Bella?"

"Jenny took her into the house to give her some brandy. The girl is inconsolable... Now you are back I shall also wait inside."

And she looked to the Doctor.

"It is good to see you back here so soon. And I'm sorry about your son -"

"Don't be," he replied quickly, cutting dead all offer of condolence, "He's not lost – it's a _time_ thing,_ just_ a time thing, Madame Vastra. And I can still see him any time I want to."

And Madame Vastra nodded, and then she turned away and headed back to the house, understanding that even if the Doctor was morning the loss of his son, he would not be asking for any sympathy, because his sadness would remain firmly private...

* * *

><p>Clara stood beside the Doctor and watched as Johnny continued to work on Strax. He had opened up his clothing and exposed a swelling on his side, which he tried to scan with Strax's scanner, but then he tossed it aside.<p>

"I can't read that thing, it's all in Sontaran..."

Then he turned to his tool kit and began to root through it quickly.

"You'd think," he said, "I would have learned more than one language after five hundred years, but no, not me, I never see these things coming...where _is_ my bloody scanning equipment -" his hand closed over a small silver device, "Oh, here it is..."

And then he began to scan the wound, and as he did so the Doctor stared at him, then looked at Clara.

"_I think someone just let something slip."_

He saw guilt reflecting in her eyes.

"You knew?"

Johnny glanced up.

"Knew what?"

"Shut up and get on with saving your patient!" the Doctor snapped, and he continued to watch as Johnny worked, glaring down at him with anger burning in his eyes as Clara wondered if he had just discovered one secret too many.

Half an hour later, after struggling to get to grips with the internal structure of a Sontaran, Johnny had sealed off the bleed and closed up the wound.

"He should wake up soon. But I wouldn't recommend moving him for an hour," he said, "Just keep him comfortable until -"

"Everything settles, I know," the Doctor replied, and as Johnny got up from the patio he turned to face the Doctor and saw his blue eyes had darkened steel grey with anger.

"What's with the look? I just saved your alien friend!"

"And now you can tell me why you lied to me."

Johnny looked to Clara, and she explained the rest:

"He's just worked it out, Johnny. You said _five hundred years_."

"Oh that," Johnny said, and he looked apologetically at the Doctor.

"I didn't want to stir up memories for you – not of that terrible time. I once helped you work on some Tardis repairs on Trenzalore. I was a scientist before I took up medicine, I worked out how to freeze the ageing process. Its working well for me, too... I would have told you eventually, but as you didn't remember me I thought it best to let sleeping dogs lie. I mean, it wasn't the best of times, was it? I remember it better than you do, I haven't regenerated like you can, I'm still the same person I was back then – just changed a bit, because war does that to a person. I was trying to spare you bad memories, that's all."

The Doctor considered all he had said, and then he nodded.

"Okay, but I think I should take you home now. I'm sure you've got patients to look after in your own time and place."

"Well I do, but I was hoping to stay on here for a while, I like it...reminds me of Christmas."

"Well it's not, and you need to go home."

"What about you and Clara?"

"We might stay on for a while, I'm not sure yet," he replied, and then as he glanced to Clara she could not tell if he was angry with her or not – but she guessed he had a right to be, she had kept enough back from him...

As he turned to leave with Johnny, she caught his sleeve and the Doctor turned back from the Tardis sharply.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Raymond. But what would you have done if you'd known? What choice would you have made?"

He looked at her and still she could not read his expression.

"_The wrong one,"_ he confessed, "_I would have been selfish and stopped him from running and he never would have met Nina, and I would have died after the shooting. _I won't be long, I'm just taking Johnny home and I'm coming straight back."

Then the expression in his eyes softened as he looked at his pregnant lover.

"At least we know there's no problems in our daughter's future – at least, I don't _think_ there is.."

And then a thought crossed his mind and Clara guessed right as her eyes widened in alarm.

"Don't you dare!" she said to him, "Don't you even think about looking ahead – her future is best left alone!"

"As if I would do a thing like that!" the Doctor exclaimed, and then he turned away and pushed open the door of the Tardis and went inside.

* * *

><p>Clara wanted to follow the Doctor, but then Strax opened his eyes and sat up.<p>

"I am not dead," he stated.

"No, but you need to rest... don't move, I'll go and get some help,"

Strax looked up at the blue skies that were starting to cloud over.

"I must rest on this stone floor?"

"Just for an hour," Clara promised him.

"The skies are looking miserable," he complained.

Clara smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't rain yet! Just wait there, I won't be long!"

and then she hurried off towards the house.

Strax looked up again at the darkening skies and glared at the rain clouds above him.

"_If you drench this recovering warrior, I shall declare war on the rain!" _he grumbled.

* * *

><p>The rain held off.<p>

Bella was overjoyed to see Strax had made a recovery, and after hugging and kissing him as he sat there with a scowl on his face, eventually after a long rest, Madame Vastra and Jenny had helped him up, and then the four of them had gone back inside the house.

And Clara had waited outside as evening shadows began to gather.

_It had been more than an hour, and the Doctor had not returned..._

Then as the air filled with the familiar sound of the returning Tardis, she breathed a relieved sigh.

But after the engines fell silent the door opened abruptly and the doctor looked out, beckoned to her, and then went back inside.

"What now?" she complained as she went into the Tardis to join him.

* * *

><p>As Clara closed the door of the Tardis and walked over to the Doctor, she knew something was wrong.<p>

He was leaning against the console with a frown on his face, and as he met her gaze she knew his mood was not a good one.

"What's wrong?"

"I took Johnny back to his own time," the Doctor replied, "And then I took a little detour on the way home -"

"You didn't! Tell me you didn't look in to our daughter's future!"

"I did," the Doctor admitted, "I only went forward around twenty five years...and I'm not happy with what I saw. I don't know how, or when or where... I'm thinking Raymond and his wife and their time manipulation devices have something to do with this, our daughter meeting a mutual friend and -"

"_Stop!"_

He looked at her.

"That's better," Clara said, "Now, unless she's in danger, I _don't_ want to know about her future – its hers!"

"No, there's no danger," the Doctor replied, "I just thought the daughter of a Timelord might have married into nobility of some kind, not to some five hundred year old chemist with a medical degree in using advanced tool kits that any idiot can master!"

Clara's eyes widened.

"You went forward to -"

"Just her wedding day, that's all -"

"_That's all?"_ Clara exclaimed, and then she started to smile. "A five hundred year old chemist? You mean she's going to marry Professor Johnny Von Straten?"

"Unfortunately, yes!"

The Doctor looked genuinely annoyed.

"I've only just got rid of the man, I was glad to leave him in his own time, I can't stand liars – and he kept enough back from me!"

Clara giggled.

He glared at her.

"What's so funny?"

"And you've never told a lie?"

"Well lying is sometimes necessary -"

"So its okay for you, but not for him?"

"I didn't say that! Besides, he's five hundred years old, what's she doing with such an old man?"

"Who doesn't look a day over forty,"Clara said as amusement danced in her eyes, "And that's more than a little hypocritical, complaining about his age at a mere five hundred years, I wouldn't have expected _that _from the two thousand year old father of my children."

He looked at her for a moment, and then he turned back to the console.

"I just need to make a quick journey somewhere..."

Clara started to smile.

"Are you going to apologise to him for the way you ordered him back home?"

The Doctor's face flushed as he threw a lever and the Tardis took flight.

"No," he replied, "I just want to say a couple things to him that I forgot to say earlier, that's all..."

Clara laughed softly.

"Too right you will!" she exclaimed, "He's your future son in law, you'd better be nice to him!"

* * *

><p>As the Tardis landed on the twentieth floor in Johnny's office, Clara was still smiling.<p>

"Go on then," she teased, "Apologise!"

"I'm not doing any such thing!" the Doctor said to her, "I just want to say something about something and then I'm leaving."

She was still smiling.

"Of course you are," she said, "Go and say your little something..."

And then as he left the Tardis, she stood in the open doorway, watching as the Doctor stepped into the room just as Johnny opened the door and walked in.

"Doctor!" he exclaimed, "Nice to see you again, perfect timing too – I haven't got any patients until this afternoon -"

The Doctor looked at him and felt slightly awkward.

"I just wanted to say something," he told him, and then he hesitated.

"Look," Johnny said to him, "I should have told you the truth about me from the start. I appreciate the fact that you let me ride in the Tardis and I should have been straight with you -"

The Doctor had finally decided how to handle the situation.

He looked at Johnny and smiled.

"_It doesn't matter."_

"It doesn't?" he asked in surprise.

"No, of course not. I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for me. You cured my head injury and that gave me my life back. And you also saved Strax. I know he's a miserable old Sontaran at times, but we're all quite fond of him, so thank you for helping him. And you're a great bloke, you really are...Me and Clara, we both like you, a lot..."

He glanced to Clara, and she struggled not to giggle again as she smiled and then continued to stand in the Tardis doorway, watching the Doctor awkwardly trying to be warm and welcoming to Johnny.

"And I hope to see you again some day," he added.

"Well you know where my office is – also, I was thinking about your son's time control device – I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of those – they cost a lot these days but I can afford it..."

"A wise decision," the Doctor said, "Time travel..._yes_. It could lead you to all sorts of places .._and_ people...I'd better go now."

And he held his hand out to him.

"See you around."

Johnny stepped closer.

As Clara saw the warmth reflecting in his eyes she laughed softly. Yes, he was going to do it...the Doctor was about to get hugged, whether he liked it or not...

Johnny wrapped his arms around him and gave him a big squeeze.

The Doctor froze awkwardly, and then Johnny let go.

"See you again some time," he said to him.

"You most certainly will...at some point in the future," the Doctor replied, and then he smiled again at his future son in law, turned away and went quickly back to the Tardis and closed the door.

* * *

><p>As the Tardis took off, Clara wrapped her arms around the Doctor and hugged him, and he briefly returned her embrace before letting go.<p>

"It wasn't so hard to do," she said to him, "Well done for being so nice."

"I wanted to be when I realised she's going to marry him!"

Clara's hand brushed her growing baby bump and she looked at the Doctor thoughtfully.

"So what now?" she asked him, "Where do we go to bring her up? I 'll understand if you don't want to go back to Victorian England – memories of Raymond as a child..."

"Happy memories," the Doctor replied, "And I see no reason why we can't have many more of those."

And she looked at him and smiled.

"We're going back?"

"Yes we are," he replied, "Madame Vastra and Jenny, even Strax – they all became like family a long time ago. Let's go home, Clara."

And he threw a lever and the Tardis returned to Earth to a time and place they both knew – Earth, the place he thought of as home - the perfect place to raise a child.

**End**

* * *

><p>Note from author:<p>

And this concludes this two book series. Hope it was enjoyed. More from me soon, much more :-)


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